Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made for the total projected cost to the public purse of purchasing land and property for HS2.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The current estimate of the total property cost of HS2 is commercially sensitive information. Estimates of the total property cost are a part of the overall funding envelope for HS2 of £55.7 billion.

East Coast Railway Line: Profits

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the profitability of the east coast main line train service under its new publicly owned operating body compared with its profitability under Stagecoach and Virgin Trains.

Joseph Johnson: As outlined in the “Short-term Intercity East Coast train operator 2018 Options Report” the introduction of the new Intercity Express Programme (IEP) train fleet will see a new cost and revenue base for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and subsequently direct comparisons to Virgin Trains profitability prior to 24 June 2018 will be limited. This would also have been the case had the contract stayed with Virgin Trains and Stagecoach. The East Coast franchise is a fundamentally good business which continues to deliver strong revenues to the government.

Northern: Timetables

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for Northern Rail to resume its standard timetable.

Joseph Johnson: Northern continues to work towards reintroduction of its standard timetable on 29 July.

Railway Stations: Hertfordshire

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train services scheduled to stop at (a) Hatfield station and (b) Welwyn Garden City station have been cancelled since 20 May 2018.

Joseph Johnson: The Department does not collect cancellation information to this level of detail. I have asked Govia Thameslink Railway to provide my Rt Hon Friend with this information.

Railways: East Grinstead

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled from East Grinstead to London from 00.01 on 18 June to 00.01 on 23rd June 2018.

Joseph Johnson: Referring to my previous answer UIN 157006 which I answered on the 28 June: The Department does not collect cancellation information to this level of detail. I have asked Govia Thameslink Railway to provide you with this information.

Railways: West Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has made to the Train Operating Companies on the use of short-formed trains on (a) the London to Haywards Heath line and (b) the London to East Grinstead line.

Joseph Johnson: I have been clear that the current disruption is unacceptable and that the operator must take action to ensure as many services as possible are operating. The Department expects the operator to use suitable rolling stock that cater for the demands of the route.

Shipping

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 155833 on Shipping: Bristol Channel, what amount and proportion of the Waterborne Freight Grant for coastal shipping was taken up in each year since it was introduced.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Waterborne Freight Grant (WFG) scheme does not have a discrete budget but shares funding with the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme for rail and inland waterway freight. The current version of the scheme dates back to April 2010. Payments made in respect of freight moved in each year since then (though not necessarily paid within that year) are shown in the table below. These include a grant made under the previous version of the scheme. YearPayments2010/11£200,410.742011/12£81,769.972012/13£363,241.942013/14£607,818.132014/15£234,309.652015/16£40,927.20

Shipping: Bristol Channel

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 155833 on Shipping: Bristol Channel, when he plans to publish the research into potential changes to the support regime for modal shift from road to sea; and whether his Department carried out that research.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Options for Changes to Revenue Support Freight Grant Schemes research was commissioned by the Department for Transport from Atkins Ltd. Publication of the summary report is likely this summer.

Shipping

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 155833 on Shipping: Bristol Channel, whether there are any industry representatives working with the Maritime Modal Connectivity Team in his Department.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There are currently no industry representatives in the Maritime Modal Connectivity Team. However, the team engaged extensively with the sector both directly and with representative bodies, including the ports and shipping sectors, during the development of “Transport Infrastructure for our global future: a study of England’s port connectivity”. The team will continue to engage with industry representatives when taking forward the coastal shipping work, as is indicated in the recommendations.

European Maritime Safety Agency

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) his Department's and (b) the public purse's annual contributions have been to the (i) development and (ii) operation of the European Maritime Safety Agency’s THETIS database of Port State Control inspections since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There is no specific cost attributed to (a) the Department for Transport or (b) the public purse for the original development nor the continued operation of the European Maritime Safety Agency’s (EMSA) THETIS database for Port State Control. The original development and continued hosting and development of THETIS by EMSA comes out of the EMSA budget which is funded by all members of the EU.

European Maritime Safety Agency

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is his policy that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will continue to submit the results of Port State Control inspections of foreign flagged vessels in UK ports to the European Maritime Safety Agency’s THETIS database after the UK has left the EU.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK is a member of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (PMoU) on Port State Control (PSC). There is an agreement in place for the European Maritime Safety Agency to host The Hybrid European Targeting and Information System (THETIS) on behalf of Paris MoU members, which includes Canada and the Russian Federation. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency will continue to be a member of the PMoU after the UK has left the EU and will continue to submit the results of PSC inspections into the THETIS database.

Port State Control

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to seek to ensure that the UK continues to be a part of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control after the UK leaves the EU.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK is a member of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control and will continue to be a member once the UK has left the EU.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Regulation

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s regulatory responsibilities.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: With the exception of the required changes needed to legislation to ensure that EU retained law continues to operate effectively, the scope of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's regulatory responsibilities will remain broadly unchanged after exit.

Northern: Standards

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the fines payable by Arriva Rail North for failure to run contractually committed services are capped; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: There is an annual cap set relating to amount of performance sum payments made by Arriva Rail North relating to the cancellation of train services.

Street Cleaning: Manure

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities keep (a) paths and (b) streets clear of horse manure.

Jesse Norman: Local authorities in England have a duty, under Section 41, of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge. This includes ensuring that paths and streets are kept free of any obstructions that could be deemed a safety hazard.

Airports: West Midlands

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a (a) third runway at Heathrow airport and (b) second runway at Birmingham airport on the economy of (i) Wolverhampton and (ii) the West Midlands.

Jesse Norman: A Northwest Runway at Heathrow will improve the UK’s connectivity, with more frequent services to important global destinations benefitting passengers and freight-operators across the UK. While Heathrow expansion will help to secure the UK’s status as a global aviation hub, we will also see airports across the country continuing to develop their point-to-point networks. This conclusion is supported by the analysis which shows that passenger numbers and international flights at airports outside of London are expected to increase by 80 per cent and 71 per cent respectively between 2016 and 2050 with a third runway at Heathrow. Whilst the Department has not made an assessment of the effect on the local economy in Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, these areas are expected to benefit from the improvement in regional and global connectivity, which is expected to deliver up to £74 billion worth of benefits to passengers and the wider economy. The Airports Commission found that whilst four out of London’s five main airports are expected to be full within the next ten years, airports outside the South East of England, such as Birmingham, have capacity to grow by increasing utilisation of their existing runway(s). As the Secretary of State set out in his oral statement on 5 June, any new operational runway at Heathrow is still a number of years away. This is why Government supports airports beyond Heathrow making best use of their existing runways. However, we recognise that the development of airports can have positive and negative effects. We consider that any proposals should be judged on their individual merits by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental.

Birmingham Airport: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the Government's policy to support a second runway at Birmingham Airport; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Airports National Policy Statement sets out the need for additional airport capacity in the South East by 2030 and why Government believes that need is best met by a new Northwest runway at Heathrow Airport. Government will publish an Aviation Strategy Green Paper later this year in order to consult on a future framework for sustainable aviation growth across the UK beyond 2030. As the Secretary of State set out in his oral statement on 5 June, any new operational runway at Heathrow is still a number of years away. This is why Government supports airports beyond Heathrow making best use of their existing runways. However, we recognise that the development of airports can have positive and negative effects. The Government considers that any proposals should be judged on their individual merits by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental.

Motorway Service Areas: Public Lavatories

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made by the Taskforce on the design and facilities of Motorway Service Areas to ensure more Changing places toilets are installed in motorway service stations.

Jesse Norman: The Government is clear that customers should have access to toilet facilities at motorway service areas that are appropriate to their needs. The Taskforce was announced by the previous minister, John Hayes and the Government is now considering how the provision of Changing Places facilities can be increased at Motorway Service Areas as part of the Inclusive Transport Strategy. Alongside this, we are also working closely with MSA operators to understand how better facilities might increasingly be provided as part of their investment and renewal plans.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Scottish Limited Partnerships: Fines

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many fines have been levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each month since the relevant regulations came into force.

Andrew Griffiths: No Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) have been fined since the People with Significant Control register came into force. Compliance is Companies House’s primary aim, rather than prosecution. It is taking action to ensure that all SLPs report their PSC information. Companies House is actively engaged with SLPs and their representatives to make them aware of their responsibilities, and in addition, it has issued reminder letters to all SLPs who have failed to file PSC information. Failure to comply with the requirement to report PSC information does not incur a civil penalty but it is an offence and may lead to result in a fine or imprisonment upon prosecution. Companies House is not a prosecuting body and will refers cases to a relevant prosecutor when all other avenues have been exhausted and an SLP has not complied with their obligations.

Scottish Limited Partnerships

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish limited partnerships qualify under the terms of the (a) Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017 and (b) Companies and Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) Regulations 2013.

Andrew Griffiths: As of 26 June 2018, there are 33,141 Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) registered with Companies House. All registered SLPs are eligible under the terms of the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017. The above regulations also require a Scottish Qualifying Partnership (SQP) to register with Companies House and deliver information concerning its People with Significant Control (PSC). An SQP is a general partnership constituted under the law of Scotland that is a qualifying partnership under the Partnership (Accounts) Regulations 2008. As of 26 June 2018, 592 SQPs have delivered PSC information to Companies House.

Scottish Limited Partnerships: Fines

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the value was of fines levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each month since the relevant regulations came into force.

Andrew Griffiths: No Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) have been fined since the People with Significant Control register came into force. Compliance is Companies House’s primary aim, rather than prosecution. It is taking action to ensure that all SLPs report their PSC information. Companies House is actively engaged with SLPs and their representatives to make them aware of their responsibilities, and in addition, it has issued reminder letters to all SLPs who have failed to file PSC information. Failure to comply with the requirement to report PSC information does not incur a civil penalty but it is an offence and may lead to result in a fine or imprisonment upon prosecution. Companies House is not a prosecuting body and will refers cases to a relevant prosecutor when all other avenues have been exhausted and an SLP has not complied with their obligations.

Business

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has had discussions with businesses on their concerns on the effect on supply chains of the UK leaving the EU.

Andrew Griffiths: Since the referendum, the Department has engaged with over 2500 businesses and representative organisations across sectors, both here and in Europe, to deepen our understanding of the key business priorities and opportunities after our withdrawal. This dialogue has included hearing businesses views on supply chain preparedness and on the importance of issues such as the need for an Implementation Period. The agreement on the Implementation Period gives businesses, particularly SMEs, the clarity and confidence that market access and common regulatory rules will remain in place until the end of 2020, meaning businesses will be able to trade on the same terms as now and that businesses will have the time to respond to one set of changes.

Professional Organisations

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which body has responsibility for monitoring the good governance of the recognised professional bodies.

Andrew Griffiths: The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, regulates the Recognised Professional Bodies on behalf of my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The Recognised Professional Bodies, when discharging their regulatory functions, are required to act in a way which is compatible with statutory regulatory objectives. The Insolvency Service has a range of powers exercisable against the Recognised Professional Bodies if these objectives are not met.

Professional Organisations

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a table showing the number of (a) individuals and (b) firms licenced by each of the recognised professional bodies.

Andrew Griffiths: The number of insolvency practitioners licensed by each of the 5 Recognised Professional Bodies is published every year as part of The Insolvency Service’s ‘Annual Review of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation’. The most recent report was published on 11 May 2018 and is available on Gov.uk Only individuals, not firms, can be licensed to act as insolvency practitioners. The Insolvency Service maintains a public register of insolvency practitioners, including the names of firms, which is available online.

Professional Organisations

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to amend the Companies Act 2006 to reduce the number of recognised supervisory bodies.

Andrew Griffiths: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has no such plans. The Recognised Supervisory Bodies have an important role in approving and registering statutory auditors, inspecting their work and investigating possible instances of professional misconduct. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) oversees the work of RSBs and has particular responsibilities of its own where there is a public interest in an independent body fulfilling these tasks.

Companies: Regulation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of the (a) public, (b) private, (c) self-regulatory and (d) other bodies which have regulatory responsibility for enforcing compliance with the Companies Act 2006.

Andrew Griffiths: The following UK bodies have regulatory responsibility for enforcing compliance with the Companies Act 2006: Public Bodies (under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000):Companies HouseFinancial Reporting CouncilInsolvency Service Other:Association of Chartered Certified AccountantsChartered Accountants IrelandInstitute of Chartered Accountants in England and WalesInstitute of Chartered Accountants of ScotlandTakeover Appeal BoardTakeover Panel This answer does not consider obligations on companies and other businesses generally such as employment regulation, environmental regulation or for reasons of public safety, or those bodies that have general responsibilities in respect of criminal investigations and prosecutions. The categorisation of bodies reflects the categorisation used for government accounting purposes and the application of the requirements of managing public money.

Insolvency: Regulation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of the (a) public, (b) private, (c) self-regulatory and (d) other bodies which have regulatory responsibility for enforcing compliance with the insolvency laws.

Andrew Griffiths: Under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State recognises certain independent professional bodies, called Recognised Professional Bodies, for the purpose of authorising their members to act as insolvency practitioners. There are currently five Recognised Professional Bodies: Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales; Insolvency Practitioners Association; Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; Institute of Charted Accountants of Scotland; and Chartered Accountants Ireland. The Recognised Professional Bodies enforce compliance with insolvency laws by insolvency practitioners they authorise. The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, regulates the Recognised Professional Bodies on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Insolvency Service also enforces compliance with insolvency laws through a range of powers exercisable against a Recognised Professional Body and directly against an insolvency practitioner.

Energy: Prices

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the strike prices were of all major energy projects in the UK since 2012.

Claire Perry: The strike prices for all energy projects awarded a Contract for Difference in the UK since 2012 are published on the Government’s website.The strike prices awarded in CFD Allocation Round 2 are published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643560/CFD_allocation_round_2_outcome_FINAL.pdf.The strike prices awarded in CFD Allocation Round 1 are published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/407059/Contracts_for_Difference_-_Auction_Results_-_Official_Statistics.pdf.The strike prices awarded to FIDER enabled CFD projects are published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-investments-of-40-billion-in-renewable-electricity-to-bring-green-jobs-and-growth-to-the-uk and the details of the projects awarded those contracts are published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/305781/Successful_Projects.pdf.The strike price awarded to Hinkley Point C is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hinkley-point-c.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which dates he or representatives of his Department met Tidal Lagoon Power to discuss the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project in the last two years.

Claire Perry: Over the last two years Tidal Lagoon Power have had meetings with BEIS ministers on 19 April 2016 and 28 September 2016, with Special Advisers on 13 January 2017 and with officials on 5 October 2017. However, across that period there has been other frequent engagement between the company Chair and Chief Executive and senior BEIS officials.

Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the reliability of electricity generation by (a) nuclear, (b) wind, (c) solar and (d) tidal energy sources.

Claire Perry: In considering the reliability of all generating technologies, the Department draws on content from National Grid. The latest National Grid Electricity Capacity Report (31 May 2017) can be found at:https://www.emrdeliverybody.com/Lists/Latest%20News/Attachments/116/Electricity%20Capacity%20Report%202017.pdf.

Plastics: Commonwealth

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 155717 on plastics: marine environment, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been allocated to the Commonwealth Marine Plastics Research and Innovation Framework;  and what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that framework benefits people (a) living in poverty affected by mismanaged waste and (b) working in the informal waste management sector in developing countries.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The exact mix of the UK’s contribution to the Framework will be agreed in the autumn when large research programmes bids, including an Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, are complete. The Framework will strengthen capacity to prevent plastics from becoming waste and getting into the oceans. Interdisciplinary research and innovation will develop social, economic and environmental solutions to waste management challenges at local, national and Commonwealth scales.

Social Services: Pay

Frank Field: To ask Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of care workers who are paid less than the (a) national living wage and (b) national minimum wage as a result of their travel time not being taken into account for the calculation of wages.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government’s 2017 evidence to the Low Pay Commission on National Minimum Wage Compliance and Enforcement[1] detailed findings from the 2016/17 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). It was estimated that just over 20,000 jobs in the social care sector were paid less than the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. However, we do not hold data on the prevalence of travel time as a specific reason for under-payment within this total. The Government is committed to ensuring that workers are paid fairly and has published guidance relating to travel time[2]. HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement budget has doubled since 2015-16, rising to £26.3 million for 2018-19. Last year, HMRC identified £15.6 million in arrears of wages owed to over 200,000 workers; the largest amount of money recovered for the highest number of workers since the National Minimum Wage came in to force. HMRC investigate where they believe an employer is not paying the minimum wage, which includes following up every worker complaint they receive. Any worker who is concerned about being underpaid should contact the ACAS helpline (on 0300 123 1100) for free and confidential advice, and to make a complaint. [1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630197/nmw-nlw-lpc-evidence-compliance-enforcement-2017.pdf[2] https://www.gov.uk/minimum-wage-different-types-work

Manufacturing Industries: Employment

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the total number of jobs in the UK in the supply chains of the (a) aerospace sector and (b) automotive sector.

Richard Harrington: Based on employment data and employment multipliers supplied by the Office for National Statistics we estimate the following number of direct jobs in the automotive and aerospace sectors themselves and additionally the number of indirect jobs in their respective UK supply chains in 2017. We define supply chain jobs as those in other areas of the UK economy supported by the demand created by domestic purchases of goods and services made by the sector in question.  Direct jobs 2017 (‘000s)Indirect jobs 2017 (‘000s)Aerospace121153Automotive179269Sources: ONS Employee Jobs and Self-Employed Jobs, ONS Employment Multipliers

Manufacturing Industries: UK Trade with EU

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on WTO terms on the aerospace and automotive sectors.

Richard Harrington: The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, and all regions and nations of the UK, in order to inform our negotiations. However, it is not standard practice to provide a running commentary on ongoing analysis. In addition, ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would undermine our negotiating position.

Cooperatives

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to support and grow the cooperative sector as part of the Industrial Strategy.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to expand the role of his Department's Industrial Strategy in supporting and growing the cooperative sector.

Richard Harrington: The Government’s ambitious, modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It sets out how we are building a Britain fit for the future – how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK with investment in the skills, industries and infrastructure of the future. The Government fully recognises the social and economic contribution of the co-operative and social enterprise sector and remains receptive to exploring opportunities to help it realise its potential, as we set out recently in our response to the Law Commission’s report on pension funds and social investment.

Fuel Poverty

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the implication for his policies of 2.5 million people living in energy poverty.

Claire Perry: This Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty. The latest statistics on fuel poverty in England show the average fuel poverty gap – the amount needed on average to lift households out of fuel poverty – decreased to £326 in 2016, down from £341 in 2015.The best long-term solution is to improve energy efficiency to bring the cost of heating homes down. That is why we have just consulted on focussing the whole of the £640m per year Energy Company Obligation on low income and vulnerable households from later this year.We are also introducing a price cap to stop unreasonable price rises for those 11 million households on standard variable and default tariffs and under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, over 2 million low income and vulnerable households are provided with a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter.

Fuel Poverty

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) single parents and (b) households in private rented accommodation at risk of energy poverty.

Claire Perry: The best long-term solution to fuel poverty is to improve energy efficiency to bring the cost of heating homes down. That is what we are doing through the Energy Company Obligation where we have consulted on focussing the whole of the scheme on low income and vulnerable households from later this year. We are also introducing a price cap to stop unreasonable price rises for those 11 million households on standard variable and default tariffs. Under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, over 2 million low income and vulnerable households are provided with a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter.Single parents and households in private rented accommodation will benefit from all of these measures. For those in the latter category, new Private Rental Sector Regulations came into force as planned on the 1st April 2018. They mean that all private landlords need to ensure that their properties reach at least a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of E before granting a tenancy to new or existing tenants. We also want to use new powers under the Digital Economy Act to help us focus support more accurately towards low income and vulnerable households living in fuel poverty.

Thorium

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to p2 of Small nuclear power: Government response to the Fourth Report of the Energy and Climate Change Committee 2014-15, HC 1105, what further analysis has been undertaken to understand the implications on waste management and disposal of using thorium fuels; and if he will commission a study to confirm the potential benefits of thorium in the longer-term and how any potential barriers to its use might be overcome.

Richard Harrington: No further analysis has been undertaken to understand the implications on waste management and disposal of using thorium fuels. There are currently no plans to commission a study to confirm the potential benefits of thorium in the longer-term and how any potential barriers to its use might be overcome. The successful bidders for Phase 1 of the Advanced Modular Reactor Feasibility & Development Programme were announced on 28th June. It should be noted that none of the eight designs that will be given an opportunity to demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of their designs plan to use thorium fuels.

Wind Power

Bill Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he can take to ensure that community benefits which are the result of an agreement to establish a wind-farm are honoured when that wind-farm changes owner or operator; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Community benefit funds for onshore wind farms are industry led, voluntary initiatives, which are agreed between developers and local communities in line with protocols that have been established in England and Scotland. Trade associations are responsible for ensuring that the protocols they have created are honoured by their signatories. We have been clear that we expect developers to provide a fund for local communities in the vicinity of their wind farms. Whilst in Coalition we worked with industry to implement a new community benefit protocol for projects in England, to ensure communities receive a greater level of benefit, and established an online register of English community benefits to aid transparency and accountability. A similar protocol and register has been established for onshore wind projects in Scotland. Guidance has been produced by the UK Government to aid engagement between developers, communities and local authorities when negotiating community benefit fund arrangements, which is available online at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/363405/FINAL_-_Community_Benefits_Guidance.pdf This recommends that the agreement to provide a community fund should be documented as a legal contract between the wind farm developer and the Fund Administrator, and that a mechanism for ensuring that the community benefit provisions continue should be included, irrespective of who owns the wind farm.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Antarctic: Marine Protected Areas

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in establishing the largest marine sanctuaries in the southern oceans; and whether those marine sanctuaries remain one of the primary goals of his Department’s Blue Belt policy.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK is a leading advocate for marine protection across the Southern Ocean. The UK secured agreement for the first Marine Protected Area (MPA) designated by the international Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and we strongly supported the Ross Sea region MPA, which was agreed in 2016. The UK is a co-proponent for MPA proposals in the Weddell Sea and in East Antarctica, both of which will be presented to the next CCAMLR meeting in October for adoption. We are also playing a leading role in developing an MPA proposal for the Antarctic Peninsula.The Blue Belt initiative is primarily focused on British waters around the UK Overseas Territories and we remain committed to protecting 4m square kilometres of UK waters by 2020. South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands and the British Antarctic Territory both fall within the CCAMLR Convention Area, and the UK therefore works within CCAMLR to underpin protection measures implemented within our own waters.

Trials: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has conducted of the ability of British citizens to receive a fair trial in (a) Poland, (b) Hungary, (c) Spain and (d) Italy.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Poland, Hungary, Spain and Italy are signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), both of which guarantee the right to a fair trial.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of President Mnangagwa’s first six months in office in Zimbabwe on that country.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government welcomes President Mnangagwa's commitment to political and economic reform. As we have made clear, including in the Foreign Secretary's meeting with Foreign Minister Moyo on 20 April, the Zimbabwe Government must deliver the free, fair and peaceful elections that the people of Zimbabwe deserve. Genuine political reforms will enable the UK and the wider international community better to support Zimbabwe's recovery.

Zimbabwe: Elections

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the current media freedoms in Zimbabwe on free and fair elections; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: We welcome some recent opening up of the media in Zimbabwe. However, we remain concerned about the partisan nature of the state broadcasters in Zimbabwe in the run up to the election. It is important that state media, in line with the Zimbabwe constitution, is impartial and allows access for all political parties.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the compliance with international humanitarian law of the recent Saudi-Emirati led coalition's assault on Hudaydah Airport in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: ​Following the start of military action by Coalition-backed forces to take Hodeidah port back from Houthi militia, the Foreign Secretary made a statement on 13 June in which he called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and prioritise the protection of civilians.We are in regular contact with the Coalition about the need to ensure that any military operations in and around Hodeidah are conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law, including in relation to the protection of civilians, and do not disrupt commercial and humanitarian flows through the port.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the the Saudi-Emirati led coalition's military assault on Hudaydah Port in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: ​We engage regularly with our US partners on a range of issues related to Yemen, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora. We work closely with the US in support of a stable, secure Yemen which poses no threat to other countries in the region or beyond. The Foreign Secretary spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the current situation in Hodeidah on 15 June, and with the Deputy Security of State John Sullivan on 26 June.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on humanitarian aid provision in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: ​We engage regularly with regional and international partners on the humanitarian situation in Yemen both bilaterally and through multilateral fora, including regular discussions at all levels with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Prime Minister raised the issue with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia during a call on 2 June, the Foreign Secretary did so with the Emirati Deputy Foreign Minister on 25 June and the International Development Secretary spoke with the Emirati Minister for International Cooperation on 22 June. The Coalition has assured us that it incorporates humanitarian concerns into operational plans.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen on the peace process in that country.

Alistair Burt: We continue to support the UN Special Envoy for Yemen in faciliating a credible peace process in Yemen. We have regular discussions with the Special Envoy and his office. The Foreign Secretary last spoke with the Special Envoy on 25 June. ​

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the nature of the Government's involvement is in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: The UK is not a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and does not have any interest or official relations with the body. ​

Turkey: Elections

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department made to the Government of Turkey on ensuring that the election in that country was run fairly as a result of the remarks of President Erdogan reported on the BBC's Today programme of 18 June 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Prior to the elections, we had consistently encouraged Turkey to ensure that the process was carried out in a peaceful, democratic and transparent manner. The Prime Minister made this point when she met the Turkish President on 15 May. We are aware of the initial report of the OSCE electoral observation mission and encourage Turkey to engage with the OSCE in order to address the points raised.

Geneva Conventions

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has plans to seek to reform the Geneva Convention; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



The UK has a strong history of upholding and promoting the principles of international humanitarian law (IHL). The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 constitute the bedrock treaties of IHL. There are no plans to seek reform of these globally recognised Conventions. We believe that efforts should be directed primarily at improving compliance with IHL. To this end, we consistently call on states and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict to respect IHL and act in accordance with their obligations under it. We are also an active participant in the intergovernmental process, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and government of Switzerland, aimed at strengthening respect for IHL.

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what meetings he attended on his recent visit to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary visited Afghanistan on 25 June ahead of a National Security Council discussion. Following the recent ceasefires in Afghanistan, and with elections due later this year, this was a timely opportunity to take stock of progress and the UK’s supportive role in providing peace and stability to Afghanistan (full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-flies-into-kabul-to-support-signs-of-progress-in-afghanistan). The Foreign Secretary also visited the United Arab Emirates, meeting the Deputy Foreign Minister. The cost of the Foreign Secretary’s travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. We do not discuss operational planning of any visits by the Foreign Secretary.

Cuba: Foreign Relations

Sir Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to improve diplomatic ties with Cuba since the appointment of Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Sir Alan Duncan: The transition to the first non-Castro President of Cuba in decades was an historic moment, which I welcomed publicly.While it is still early in President Diaz-Canel's time in office, the UK has already begun to engage the new administration. The Head of Latin America Department visited Cuba shortly after President Diaz-Canel's appointment to attend Cuba's Tourism Fair, for which the UK was named 'Country of Honour', and for meetings with the Cuban Government and civil society. He was clear about the UK's desire to continue improving the relationship between the UK and Cuba.We look forward to continuing our constructive engagement with President Diaz-Canel and his new ministerial team to promote trade and investment at the same time as maintaining a broad political dialogue, including on human rights and the need for reform.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir from June 2016 to April 2018, and General Human Rights Concerns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, published on 14 June 2018, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in India and Pakistan on implementing the recommendations of that report.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



The British Government has taken note of the concerns across Kashmir raised in the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' report and its recommendations for both the Governments of India and Pakistan to consider. We have noted the reactions of both India and Pakistan but have not discussed its recommendations with either Government.We encourage all states to cooperate with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and ensure that their domestic laws are in line with international human rights standards. The UK's longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking account of the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or act as a mediator.

Philippines: Human Rights

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Philippines counterpart on the human rights situation in that country.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



The UK is fully committed to the global promotion and protection of human rights. Human rights abuses in the Philippines remain troubling. Our Embassy in Manila is in regular contact with human rights groups and relevant UN bodies on a range of human rights issues. We also work closely with our EU partners to press for investigations into instances of abuse.I personally raised concerns with the Philippine Ambassador in April 2018, and with the Philippines’ Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs in December 2017. In a statement on 19 June 2018 before the Human Rights Council, the United Kingdom, along with 37 other signatory countries, urged the Government of the Philippines to cooperate with the United Nations system, without preconditions or limitations. We also called upon the Philippines to provide and guarantee a safe and secure environment for all, including journalists and Human Rights defenders.

Colombia: UN Security Council

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has been taking to fulfil the UK’s role as a penholder on Colombia in the UN Security Council.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK has led work to deliver strong UN support to the peace process with the FARC over the past two years. This included drafting and leading negotiations on two resolutions (2261 & 2307 in 2016) to establish a UN Political Mission which played a key role in monitoring and verifying the ceasefire and overseeing the process of FARC demilitarisation. The UK also drafted and led negotiations on resolution 2366 (2017) which established a subsequent Political Mission to verify the FARC's reincorporation into civilian life; it was extended in October to monitor the three month ceasefire with the ELN. The UK will work closely with the new Colombian Government to ensure best possible UN support for the peace process.

Cambodia: Human Rights

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,  what recent discussions he has had with his Cambodian counterpart on the political and human rights situation in that country.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



The government remains deeply concerned about the actions taken by the Cambodian authorities and its Supreme Court, which undermines freedom of expression and destroys any likelihood that Cambodia’s July 2018 elections will be free and fair.We take every opportunity to raise these issues. I first expressed our concerns to Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn at the Asia-Europe Meeting in November last year. I also reiterated these in a meeting with the Cambodian Ambassador to the UK Dr Soeung earlier this year. At the June UN Human Rights Council the UK highlighted concerns at the “continued democratic deterioration”, impact on freedom of speech and the ongoing detention of Kem Sokha.We work closely with EU and other like-minded partners to press the Cambodian authorities to reverse these actions. We will continue to liaise with our partners on further possible steps ahead of, and subsequent to, the July elections, including calling for the release of opposition leader Kem Sokha.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir from June 2016 to April 2018, and General Human Rights Concerns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, published on 14 June 2018, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts at the United Nations on human rights in Kashmir.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



The British Government has taken note of the concerns across Kashmir raised in the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' report and its recommendations for both the Governments of India and Pakistan to consider. We have not yet discussed its recommendations or human rights in Kashmir with counterparts at the United Nations.The UK's longstanding policy is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking account of the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or act as a mediator.

South China Sea: Disputed Territories

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region on disputed territorial waters in the South China Sea.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



This issue features regularly in Ministerial discussions with regional counterparts including those from China, Japan and the nations of South East Asia. Ministers and senior officials also regularly attend multilateral meetings which cover the issue, most recent the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore in June this year.The UK does not take sides or support any sovereignty claim over another. Our commitment is to the impartial and independant operation of international law and freedom of navigation and overflight. The UK opposes militarisation of the South China Sea and we urge all parties to respect freedom of navigation and settle their disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of his visit to Afghanistan of 25 June 2018.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



​The cost of the Foreign Secretary's travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by members of his private office.

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many public officials other than those who travelled with him for security purposes accompanied him on his visit to Afghanistan on 25 June 2018.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



​The cost of the Foreign Secretary's travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by members of his private office.

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people other than those travelling with him for security purposes accompanied him at public cost on his visit to Afghanistan on 25 June 2018.

Mark Field: ​The cost of the Foreign Secretary's travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by members of his private office.

World War II: Compensation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 154658, on World War II: Compensation, for what reasons that information is not readily available.

Sir Alan Duncan: Discussions about war reparations took place over many years in a number of different fora. Relevant information is likely to be spread across different record collections. To find this information would require an extensive search and would incur disproportionate cost.

Antarctic: Marine Protected Areas

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent permanent staff in his Department are allocated to working on negotiations towards securing an agreement on the proposal to establish a Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea at the next annual meeting of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Issues pertaining to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources are covered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Polar Regions Department, which currently has 6.5 full-time equivalent permanent staff. This team is also supported on the development of the Weddell Sea Marine Protection Area proposal by FCO Legal Advisers and scientific and technical experts from the British Antarctic Survey and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.

Afghanistan: Sikhs

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent of persecution of members of the Sikh religion in Afghanistan.

Mark Field: Holding answer received on 02 July 2018



​There is no reliable data on the number of Sikhs residing in Afghanistan, but it is estimated to be in the low thousands. Afghanistan’s Constitution states that all citizens have equal rights and that non-Muslims are free to exercise their religious beliefs. However leaders of the Sikh community continue to report discrimination. The UK strongly condemned the 1 July attack on a group of Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad, responsiblity for which was claimed by Daesh. Afghanistan is a priority country for the FCO’s human rights work. The UK works closely with Afghanistan’s National Unity Government, NGOs, civil society and other international partners to support the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan.

Gaza: Borders

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Israel on lifting the illegal closure of Gaza.

Alistair Burt: ​I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, at the end of May. I met Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely and Israeli Minister for Regional Cooperation Hanegbi, and encouraged urgent action to improve the situation in Gaza. We welcome the steps that Israel has taken to ease some restrictions. However whilst recognising legitimate security concerns, we want to see Israel go much further. We continue to stress to the Israeli authorities the damage that their restrictions are doing to the living standards of Palestinians in Gaza and that supporting legal trade for Gazans is firmly in Israel’s long-term interests. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both raised concerns about the situation in Gaza during their meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 6 June.

Gaza: Electricity

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Israel to improve the flow of electricity supplies from Israel to Gaza.

Alistair Burt: ​Increased water and electricity supplies are a prerequisite to improving life in Gaza. We welcome reports that the Gaza power plant is back online meaning the average electricity supply has now increased to around 5 hours per day. However this still leaves Gazans with at least 19 hours a day without electricity. Ultimately the best solution is a political agreement between all parties on sustainable solutions to increase the electricity supply to Gaza. We press for immediate discussions to alleviate the situation.

Department of Health and Social Care

European Reference Networks

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has developed to continue the UK’s participation in the European Reference Networks after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has noted the importance of continued collaboration with European partners in the 2017 policy paper ‘Collaboration on Science and Innovation: A Future Partnership Paper’. The paper expressly cited European Reference Networks (ERNs) as an example of collaboration that the United Kingdom and European Union should discuss in the negotiations, given the mutual benefits. Recently, the Europe-wide ERN community and EURODIS have written to the European Commission and UK Government to “call upon the European Commission and the UK Government to ensure that a solution is found so that the UK healthcare providers can continue to participate in the ERNs and all our patients can benefit from our collaboration”. The Government’s response signalled its commitment to act in the best interest of rare diseases patients – an area of mutual interest between the UK and EU27 - in the negotiations with EU partners.

Drugs: Cost-Effectiveness

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on updating its cost-effectiveness analysis methodology.

Steve Brine: Departmental officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including its plans to update its methodology for the development of guidance. NICE’s methods and processes for the assessment of drugs have been carefully developed over time and are internationally respected. NICE continues to keep its procedures under periodic review to ensure that they remain fit for purpose.

Suicide: Higher Education

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussion he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the number of suicides in Higher Education settings.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care speaks regularly with colleagues across Government on a range of issues, including mental health. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asked Public Health England to lead a project to analyse and publish data on student suicides in England. The Office for National Statistics was commissioned to research this issue, and the report ‘Estimating suicide among Higher Education students, England and Wales’ was published on 25 June 2018. The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education on such matters and in December 2017, published the joint ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’. The Minister of State for Higher Education (Sam Gyimah) hosted a mental health summit on 28 June 2018 to work with universities, students and support groups to discuss better support for students.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received on governance issues at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The Department has been in active discussion with NHS Improvement over potential governance issues at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. I set out the Government’s position during the adjournment debate on the topic on 27 June.

Palliative Care

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the funding of hospices; and what levels of funding his Department plans to provide for palliative care in each financial year until 2025.

Caroline Dinenage: The vast majority of hospices are primarily charity-funded but receive some statutory funding from clinical commissioning groups (CCGS) for providing local services. The amount of funding varies between CCGs, but on average adult hospices receive approximately 30% of their overall funding from National Health Service sources. CCGs are responsible for determining the level of NHS-funded hospice care locally and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population. Children’s hospices tend to receive less statutory funding than adult hospices due to differences in their development and type of non-NHS supportive care they provide. Therefore, in addition to NHS funding for locally commissioned services, children’s hospices will receive £11 million in 2018/19 through the Children’s Hospice Grant, which is awarded annually and administered by NHS England. As with the vast majority of NHS services, the commissioning of palliative and end of life care is a local matter, over which individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility. CCGs are best placed to understand the needs of local populations and fund services to meet those needs from the overall resource allocations they receive.

Defibrillators: Rural Areas

Sir Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural communities have access to defibrillators.

Steve Brine: Since the Department’s Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy was published in 2013, which highlighted the lives that could be saved by better cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and availability of Public Access Defibrillators (PADs), the NHS England-chaired Community Resuscitation Steering Group has taken a number of steps to address relevant issues, including in relation to community defibrillator access. These steps include:- In order to further support the National Health Service and local communities, the Government provided £1 million in the 2015 Budget to increase the availability and accessibility of PADs and the numbers of people trained in CPR; in the March 2016 Budget, a further £1 million was made available to make PADs and CPR training more widely available in communities across England;- The Resuscitation Council (UK), the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Arrhythmia Alliance have all undertaken campaigns to increase awareness of CPR and availability of PADs;- The BHF has committed funds to implement the establishment of a national database of PADs and make this available to ambulance services, and two ambulance services are currently involved in determining the structure and function of the database. This database will later be offered to all services once shown to be safe and effective, and a key intention is to ensure that PAD location information is readily available when someone makes a 999 call. Local ambulance trusts are thought to be best placed to know what is needed in their local area, and often offer advice to charities and the public on the operation and placement of PADs.

Carers

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) financial and (b) other resources available to family carers.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to continuing to support informal carers, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing, employment and other life chances. On the 5 June the Department published a cross-Government action plan of targeted work to support carers over the next two years. The Care Act 2014 also introduced important new rights for carers, for the first time putting them on the same footing as the people for whom they care. They now have legal rights to an assessment of, and support for, their needs where eligible. In addition, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits according to their circumstances. Since 2010 the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £64.60 a week, meaning an additional £550 a year for carers.

Carers

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people without a family to support them are supported otherwise.

Caroline Dinenage: Those in need of care without a family to support them may be eligible for support as set out in the Care Act 2014. The Care Act 2014 requires that where an adult or carer appears to have care and support needs the local authority must carry out an assessment. It must then decide if the person has eligible needs by considering the outcomes the person wants to achieve, what needs they have, and how these impact on their wellbeing. Where a person is assessed as having eligible care and support needs, these must be met by their local authority. Once an eligibility determination has been made the local authority should then carry out a financial assessment to determine whether or not the person should pay anything towards their care. For those who do not meet the eligibility criteria, local authorities should signpost people to relevant services.

Motor Neurone Disease

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding available for research into motor neurone disease research.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The usual practice of the NIHR and other research funders is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including motor neurone disease (MND). In 2016-17, the NIHR invested £4.58 million into MND and closely-related conditions research. The NIHR Research Infrastructure supported 23 studies and trials on MND and closely-related conditions in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, Units and other research infrastructure during 2016-17. The majority of these studies have been funded by research charities including the Motor Neurone Disease Association, other research funders and the life sciences industry. In April 2018, the NIHR Clinical Research Network was supporting 19 non-commercial studies and clinical trials on MND and closely-related conditions.

Mental Health: Children

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to work with NSPCC to reduce the rate of children experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Responding to suicide and self-harm in children and young people is a key priority in the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. The Department works with a range of stakeholders on suicide prevention, including voluntary and charitable sector organisations, through the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group. The Department welcomes the opportunity to work with any organisation, including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), on suicide prevention issues. More broadly, the Government supports the NSPCC through an £8 million grant over four years (up to 2020), as a contribution to funding both ChildLine and the NSPCC’s National Helpline (for anyone with concerns or worries about a child).

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of public opinion towards the NHS Business Services Authority’s penalty charge scheme for dentistry.

Steve Brine: No such assessment has been carried out by the Department. Many patients are exempt from National Health Service patient charges. The dentist, when collecting the charge on behalf of the NHS, is dependent if evidence is not provided on the patient’s statement that he or she is exempt. Retrospective checks on eligibility are undertaken to protect the overall NHS budget to which patient charges make an important contribution. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) carries this checking and penalty service out on behalf of NHS England. It includes an appeals process. The NHS BSA and NHS England however recognise there is concern that some patients may not be clear on whether they are exempt from charges. The NHS BSA is working to further improve information available. This includes steps to promote easy read patient information amongst vulnerable patient groups, creating an online eligibility checker and developing a national awareness campaign.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the effectiveness of the NHS Business Services Authority’s approach to issuing penalty charges, (b) trends in the number of appeals against those charges which are upheld; and how lessons are learned from such upheld appeals.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no such assessment. The attached table shows a breakdown of successful and unsuccessful appeals against the Benefit Exemption Checking Service (BECS) only. A table showing the total number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) issued for the BECS, the Prescription Exemption Checking Service and the Dental Exemption Checking Service (DECS) is attached. The NHS Business Services Authority continuously review contact from patients who feel they have incorrectly received a PCN. This allows valuable insight and understanding into customer behaviour including exceptional circumstances provided by patients.



PQ157863 attached document
(Word Document, 24.2 KB)

Autism and Learning Disability

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answers of 4 June 2018 to Questions 146805 and 146806 on Autism and Learning Disability, what recent progress has been made on meeting the target to decommission 900 beds by March 2019, as outlined in the Building the Right Support document, published in October 2015.

Caroline Dinenage: Nationally collected NHS England management data indicates that over the course of 2016-17 and 2017-18, National Health Service commissioners in England have decommissioned over 430 learning disability beds in England.

Learning Disability: Nurses

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure the retention and recruitment of Learning Disability Nurses as a result of the findings of the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Annual Report 2017.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to improving workforce capability in relation to learning disability across the National Health Service and social care and we have committed that there will be a response to the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review report and its recommendations shortly. Last year, the Government announced a 25% increase in the number of nurse training places that will be available, starting in September 2018. On 9 May 2018, my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health (Stephen Barclay) announced £10 million funding for incentives for postgraduate students who go on to work in mental health and learning disability fields, as well as those postgraduates who go on to work in community nursing roles. The Government is considering the most effective way to implement the incentive scheme. The Department is working closely with Health Education England, NHS England, NHS Improvement and Skills for Care on a range of measures to support increased recruitment and improve retention across the health and care system, including the learning disability nursing workforce. These measures include marketing campaigns to raise awareness and interest in careers in the NHS, an NHS Improvement programme to improve staff retention in trusts across England and bring down the leaver rates in the NHS by 2020 and arrangements to support flexible working to help staff to balance work-life commitments.

Hearing Impairment: Staffordshire

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on hearing loss in adults, published in June 2018, what assessment he has made of North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s decision to restrict hearing aids for people with mild or moderate hearing loss.

Caroline Dinenage: Individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for the provision of hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss to meet the needs of their local population. As with other services CCGs commission, they should take into consideration assessments of local need and any relevant guidance, such as that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE clinical guidelines are not mandatory, although we expect service commissioners to take them into account alongside local priorities in the design of services.

*No heading*

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group adheres to the revised NICE guidance on hearing loss in adults, published in June 2018, on the provision of hearing aids to people with mild and moderate hearing loss.

Caroline Dinenage: Individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for the provision of hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss to meet the needs of their local population. As with other services CCGs commission, they should take into consideration assessments of local need and any relevant guidance, such as that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE clinical guidelines are not mandatory, although we expect service commissioners to take them into account alongside local priorities in the design of services.

Royal Liverpool Hospital

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) officials of his Department on the completion of the construction of Royal Liverpool University Hospital since the collapse of Carillion; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care are working closely on this matter with those from Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and of course with relevant senior staff of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust to ensure that the hospital can be completed as quickly as is possible. As is to be expected with a situation like this, meetings and discussions are also taking place with representatives from the Private Finance Initiative Project Company (The Hospital Company (Liverpool) Holdings Limited) on a very frequent basis.

Social Work: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who have entered the social work profession in Coventry in each of the last three years.

Caroline Dinenage: Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, in England, collects data on the number of social work jobs in England. Data shows that there were around 100-125 social worker jobs employed by Coventry local authority with fewer than 10 new to the profession in each of the past three years.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities receive sufficient funding for the provision of Tier 1 and Tier 2 CAMHS.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Expenditure on children and young people’s mental health and children and young people’s eating disorders is tracked in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard. However this information is not broken down to show information on expenditure for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The dashboard is available at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-five-year-forward-view-dashboard/ NHS England does not make specific allocations for programme areas like CAMHS. Budgets and contracts for services are decided and commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) which assess local needs. Furthermore, NHS England does not determine allocations or contracts for local authorities. Again, these are decided and commissioned locally by CCGs in response to local need. Under the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS), all CCGs are required to increase mental health expenditure in line with their overall allocation. The MHIS is being introduced into planning guidance from 2018/19 so all CCGs will have to meet it.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group and (b) Barnsley Council for the provision of (i) Tier 1, (ii) TIer 2 and (iii) Tier 3 CAMHS in that region in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Expenditure on children and young people’s mental health and children and young people’s eating disorders is tracked in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard, which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-five-year-forward-view-dashboard/ However this information is not broken down to show information on expenditure for Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. For 2016/17 in Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) the actual spend on children and young people’s mental health, excluding learning disabilities and eating disorders, was £4.178 million and for eating disorders was £143,000. For 2017/18 in Barnsley CCG the planned spend on children and young people’s mental health, excluding learning disabilities and eating disorders, is £4.3 million and for eating disorders it is £143,000. Information for 2015/16 is not available. Funding for Barnsley council to deliver services is through the local government finance settlement; this is generally un-ring fenced resource to deliver a range of services including social care.

Hospital Wards: Gender

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Government has made on eliminating mixed-sex wards in NHS hospitals in England.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mixed-sex ward breaches there have been in NHS hospitals in England in each of the last five years.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to eliminate mixed-sex wards in NHS hospitals in England.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS England hospitals have incurred the greatest level of fines for mixed-sex ward breaches in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: All patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The Government have made it clear that providers of National Health Service-funded care are expected to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation, except where this is in the overall best interest of the patient, or reflects their personal choice. There are overriding operational and clinical reasons why patients might sometimes need to be placed in mixed wards or bays. The need to treat a patient safely and urgently must take priority. In such cases, the breach will be rectified as soon as possible. Hospitals therefore need to take action to address breaches of mixed sex accommodation and put plans in place to avoid further breaches where it is appropriate to do so. The number of breaches has fallen by 86.6% (as of April 2018) since reporting began in 2010. Data on breaches of mixed sex accommodation are collected monthly and the annual totals for the last five years are shown in the following table. YearNumber of Breaches2013-142,7222014-152,6552015-165,3092016-177,7562017-1814,737 Information on fines is not collected centrally. Under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract 2017-18 to 2018-19, where breaches occur, the commissioner whose patient is affected must levy the financial sanction specified by the contract. That sanction is £250 (introduced in April 2011) for each day that a patient is affected by the breach.

Psychiatric Nurses

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the safe nursing to patient ratios are for each high dependency unit in each high-security psychiatric hospital; and on how many occasions such ratios have been breached at each hospital in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Safe nursing to patient ratios in each high dependency unit within the high-security hospitals are determined by the hospitals themselves. To determine the safe nursing to patient ratios required, the hospitals will take into consideration the number of patients on each individual ward, the acuity and dependency of the patients and known security risk factors associated with each patient. As there is no prescribed safe nursing to patient ratio, there is no way to quantify a “breach”. Data on nursing to patient ratios in high dependency units in high-security hospitals is not collected centrally by NHS England or the Care Quality Commission.

Psychiatric Patients: Rehabilitation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of patients in each high-security psychiatric hospital has access to rehabilitation services on all weekdays.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what rehabilitation services are available in each high-security psychiatric hospital; and what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) uptake by patients of those services in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: All patients that are clinically eligible and are willing to partake in rehabilitation services have the opportunity to do so on all weekdays. Each hospital provides a range of rehabilitation services tailored towards an individual patient’s needs. The availability and the type of rehabilitation service is developed between the care team and the patient to ensure it meets their specific requirements. The eligibility and uptake of rehabilitation services is largely due to how well the patient is and how receptive they are to partaking in such activities. Eligibility and uptake are monitored through the patients individual Care Programme Approach plans. NHS England does not hold information on numbers of rehabilitation services or uptake of them centrally.

Psychiatric Patients

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the policy on night-time confinement is of each high-security psychiatric hospital; and what estimate he has made of the level of the use of that policy in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Each of the high security hospitals has a policy that covers how and when night-time confinement is implemented in line with the High Security Psychiatric Services (Arrangements for Safety and Security) Directions 2013. The majority of patients in high security psychiatric hospitals are subject to night-time confinement. There are exceptions to this where en-suite facilities are not available in the patient’s room or where the care team consider night time confinement is not clinically appropriate for individual patients. This is risk assessed on an individual patient basis by their care team. NHS England does not collect data on the number of times that the policy is used.

UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the role of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park  in delivering the Health and Wellbeing legacy of the London 2012 Olympics; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a joint venture between the public and private sectors, led by Legacy Park Ltd with partners Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It aims to be a model of social inclusion bringing new jobs and communities together. For example, the National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Sheffield, which opened in September 2015, brings together clinical services, sport and exercise specialists and health professionals to make it easier for physical activity to become part of the treatment for a range of chronic health conditions. This model has delivered a more efficient and effective service for staff and patients and increased capacity to deal with musculoskeletal problems by 50%. It has also delivered significant improvements in National Health Service staff health and wellbeing through the workplace wellness programme. An independent evaluation by York University Centre for Health Economics estimated an economic return on investment of 300%.

Psychiatric Hospitals: Sick Leave

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the rates of staff sickness related to stress have been in each high-security psychiatric hospital in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Rates of staff sickness related to stress in each of the high-security psychiatric hospitals is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of each of the high-security psychiatric hospitals to manage staff sickness in line with their respective organisational policies. NHS England holds regular reviews with the hospitals to ensure sickness levels are being overseen and the appropriate actions are put into place by the providers to manage them.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2018 to Question 146172 on procurement, what the daily rate of pay is of each of those contractors who have been employed by his Department for five years or more.

Jeremy Wright: The answer of 6 June 2018 stated there were 8 contractors in the Government Legal Department (GLD) who had worked in GLD for five or more years at 30 April 2018. Their daily rates of pay are: £167.20, £254.45, £285, £369.08, £375, £380, £389.50, and £418.

Department for International Development

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the recent military action in Hudaydah has had an effect on the operational capacity of her Department's sponsored projects in Yemen; and if she will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our UN and NGO partners continue to work tirelessly to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing military operation on Hodeidah, and to reach the most vulnerable in all areas of the country including the 8.4 million people at risk of starvation. The UK’s commitment of £170 million to this year’s UN’s Yemen Humanitarian Appeal supports these efforts. Earlier this month, the UK provided £15 million to the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund. In response to the Hodeidah operation, the Fund has supported the procurement 600,000 of emergency ration packs for the whole population of Hodeidah city, as well as providing sufficient food to meet the needs of 1.1 million people across Yemen for a month. UN agencies and NGOs have quickly responded to the operation in Hodeidah, responding to both the humanitarian situation in Hodeidah city and to the effects of the operation on the humanitarian response throughout Yemen. Our UN partners have prepositioned supplies for emergency feeding, treatment of wounded, people displaced, and to provide fuel for generators and water trucking.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that the flow of her Department's aid to Yemen is not compromised as a result of military activity in the province of Hudaydah.

Alistair Burt: The UK government has clearly set out our concerns about the operation on Hodeidah, and have been in close touch with all parties on this. This includes the Prime Minister raising our concerns in a recent call with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Hodeidah and Saleef ports remain open for commercial and humanitarian imports of food, fuel and medical supplies. We continue to engage closely with all parties to prioritise the humanitarian response urging that military operations protect civilians and do not prevent food and fuel from reaching the 8.4 million Yemenis throughout Yemen who are at risk of starvation. We have also been clear that the Houthis must not compromise port facilities and must facilitate access for aid and supplies in the areas they hold. Last Sunday another missile was intercepted over Riyadh. The UK is providing £1.3 million to help the UN’s Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) to facilitate commercial imports into Hodeidah and Saleef ports by giving the Coalition confidence that weapons are not coming in on commercial ships. Alongside this financial support, we have also deployed UK experts to support the inspections of ships in Djibouti, increasing the proportion of physical inspections ten-fold.

Tunisia: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much financial aid the UK plans to provide to Tunisia in the financial year 2018-2019.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to supporting Tunisia’s democratic transition, through economic development, governance reforms and increasing the capacity of the country’s security sector. Through the cross-Government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Tunisia has been allocated over £11.2 million for 2018-2019. On top of our bilateral support, multilateral organisations are also a vital part of the UK’s efforts to build security, stability and prosperity in Tunisia. The UK is a generous donor to the multilateral system, supporting the work of organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on reform activities in Tunisia.

Libya: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of development assistance to Libya in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016 and (d) 2017.

Alistair Burt: The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to help stabilise Libya and to tackle the threat from Daesh and the migration crisis. Figures for total UK bilateral Overseas Development Assistance to Libya are published annually in the Statistics on International Development. In 2014 total bilateral ODA was £28.6m, in 2015 £10.4m, in 2016 £14.4m. Final figures for 2017 will be published later this year.

Developing Countries: Equality

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what criteria his Department will use to assess progress on the implementation of Strategic Development Goal 5 in the Voluntary National Review in 2019.

Harriett Baldwin: Work on developing the UK’s 2019 Voluntary National Review is ongoing. We will be drawing on a range of sources, including:the UN’s global indicator framework for measuring progress towards the SDGs;the UK’s Office for National Statistics’ National Reporting Platform on UK data for the SDGs;Single Departmental Plans in which government departments have embedded the SDGs; anddepartmental Annual Reports and Accounts in which departments are expected to report progress towards the SDGs.We will continue to consult with a range of key stakeholders as we finalise our plans, including launching an online consultation to ensure we capture a wide range of views and inputs.

Developing Countries: Equality

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the form of the consultation with local authorities will be on the planned indicators to measure progress on Sustainable Development Goal 5 for the Voluntary National Review in 2019.

Harriett Baldwin: Work on developing the UK’s 2019 Voluntary National Review is ongoing. We will be drawing on a range of sources, including:the UN’s global indicator framework for measuring progress towards the SDGs;the UK’s Office for National Statistics’ National Reporting Platform on UK data for the SDGs;Single Departmental Plans in which government departments have embedded the SDGs; anddepartmental Annual Reports and Accounts in which departments are expected to report progress towards the SDGs.We will continue to consult with a range of key stakeholders as we finalise our plans, including launching an online consultation to ensure we capture a wide range of views and inputs.

Palestinians: Construction

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will call for a review of the UN Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism.

Alistair Burt: The United Nations (UN) have begun a review of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism. Officials are following the review closely.

Department for Education

Teachers: Recruitment

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of initiatives to encourage more people to enter the teaching profession.

Nick Gibb: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has made it his top priority to ensure teaching remains an attractive and fulfilling profession. In addition to a £30 million investment in tailored support for the schools that struggle the most with recruitment and retention, the Department offers several other financial incentives to encourage the recruitment of high quality graduates into teaching. These include; tax-free bursaries, worth up to £26,000 for priority subjects and tax-free scholarships of up to £28,000 in five subjects. The Department is piloting a new approach for mathematics trainee teachers in 2018/19, which tests whether offering some of the bursary once the teacher is employed is effective in incentivising both recruitment and retention. The Department recruited more trainee teachers in 2017/18 than in 2016/17 (a 3% rise).

Centre for Holocaust Education: Finance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the All-Party Parliamentary Group inquiry into antisemitism of 2015, what discussions he has had to date with the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education on renewing its government grant at the end of the current funding period.

Nick Gibb: In November 2017 the former Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) met Sir Trevor Pears from the Pears Foundation, which jointly funds the Centre for Holocaust Education (CHE), to discuss the work undertaken by CHE. Departmental officials meet regularly with CHE to monitor and review their work with the last meeting held in April 2018.The Department has committed to extend the funding for the CHE until March 2020. Funding after that date will be considered as part of the Government’s next spending review.

Schools: Antisemitism

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report of the the All-Party Parliamentary Group on antisemitism of 2015, what (a) guidance his Department has produced and (b) resources it is offering in support of teachers handling difficult conversations in the classroom setting.

Anne Milton: There is no place in any educational institution for hatred, harassment, discrimination or racism in any form. The government’s Educate Against Hate website (www.educateagainsthate.com), set up in January 2016, hosts a number of resources to support teachers in holding sensitive conversations with pupils. This includes guidance produced by the Board of Deputies of British Jews on antisemitism in schools, a toolkit on teaching controversial issues developed by Suffolk SACRE, and the government-funded Deliberative Classroom resource pack on religious freedom. We are also funding teacher training and accompanying resources provided by the Centre for Holocaust Education to support teachers in facilitating lessons and discussions about the holocaust.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of conferring statutory status on personal, social, health and economic  education on tackling discrimination in schools.

Nick Gibb: In March 2017, the Government announced that alongside the introduction of Relationships Education, at primary level, and Relationships and Sex Education, at secondary level, the Secretary of State for Education would have the power, via regulations, to make to make Personal Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) statutory in all schools.The Department is currently finalising an assessment of the evidence gathered during a wide-ranging engagement process to shape the content of the new subjects and determine the future status of PSHE. Results of this process will be published shortly, alongside a consultation on the content draft regulations and accompanying statutory guidance, before laying the regulations in the House for debate.

Special Educational Needs: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of places available in special education schools in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that there is a school place available for every child. The Children and Families Act 2014 also requires local authorities to work with parents, young people, and providers to keep the provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities under review, including its sufficiency.Coventry received £44.6 million of basic need funding to provide new school places from 2011-2018, and has been allocated a further £16.1 million from 2018-2021. Local authorities in the West Midlands received a total of £645.3 million of basic need funding to provide new school places from 2011-2018, and have been allocated a further £304.8 million from 2018-2021. Local authorities can use their basic need funding to expand any school in their area, including specialist provision, as well as to create new schools.The department has also allocated £265 million of special provision capital funding to help build new places at mainstream and special schools, and to improve existing facilities. Coventry has been allocated £2.9 million from this fund, in addition to their basic need funding. Local authorities in the West Midlands have been allocated £21.3 million.

Teachers: First Aid

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the number of first-aid trained teachers in schools in Coventry.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally.

Schools: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of schools in Coventry which are in financial deficit.

Nick Gibb: The Department trusts schools to manage their own budgets and the vast majority are operating with a cumulative surplus, with only a small percentage having a cumulative deficit. The latest figures for Coventry’s local authority maintained schools showed 78 schools (95%) reporting a cumulative surplus or breaking even, against four schools reporting a cumulative deficit in 2016-17.Academy trusts are the legal entities responsible for academies, including their finances, with freedoms to pool funding among their academies. A trust based in Coventry may contain academies outside Coventry, and an academy in Coventry may belong to a trust outside Coventry. For example, the majority of academies in the Diocese of Coventry Multi-Academy Trust are in Warwickshire. One trust based in Coventry reported an overall deficit in 2016/17.

Academies: Admissions

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies have used the right of appeal to disagree with a local authority's decision to place a child in their school; and what the outcome of those cases were in each of the last five years.

Nadhim Zahawi: Where a local authority considers that an academy will best meet the needs of a child, it can ask the academy to admit that child. The local authority and the academy will usually come to an agreement, but if the academy refuses to admit the child, the local authority can ask the Secretary of State to direct them to do so. Academies do not have the right to appeal against a direction made by the Secretary of State. Published guidance on academy admissions can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academy-admissions.

Social Workers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his oral contribution of 25 June 2018, Official Report, column 589, what the evidential basis is for the statement that there are 35,000 child and family social workers.

Nadhim Zahawi: As of 30 September 2017, a headcount of 36,360 child and family social workers and agency social workers was recorded in the annual census of child and family social workers in England. The information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-work-workforce-2017.

Department for Education: Staff

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2018 to Question 155807 on Department for Education: Staff, what the full-time equivalent number is of (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff employed in (i) his private office, (ii) the Permanent Secretary's office, (iii) the Higher and Further Education Directorate, (iv) the Social Care, Mobility, and Equalities Directorate, (v) the Education Standards Directorate, (vi) the Infrastructure and Funding Directorate, (vii) the Insight, Resources, and Transformation Directorate, and (viii) the Education Skills Funding Agency.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants are employed at each grade in (a) his private office, (b) the Permanent Secretary's private office, (c) the Higher and Further Education Directorate, (d) the Social Care, Mobility, and Equalities Directorate, (e) the Education Standards Directorate, (f) the Infrastructure and Funding Directorate, (g) the Insight, Resources, and Transformation Directorate and (h) the Education Skills Funding Agency.

Anne Milton: The number of payroll, non-payroll and full-time equivalent staff employed in the department is shown in the attached tables.



157768_157769_Data_Tables
(Excel SpreadSheet, 60.5 KB)

Carillion: Apprentices

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprentices transferred from Carillion Training Services to the Construction Industry Training Board had been placed with alternative employers by the end of June 2018; and whether all apprentices transferred from Carillion Training Services to the Construction Industry Training Board are continuing to be paid.

Anne Milton: The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has worked directly with the 1,148 apprentices in England who were employed by Carillion and the official receiver has reported that they have secured new employment, with wages, for 776 apprentices to date.CITB continues to support all affected learners and offer a range of support options. They are currently providing further direct communications via email and telephone, in order to target the remaining cohort of disengaged learners. These learners have also been invited to a series of local events in order to explore the opportunities and options available to them.The ‘active’ and ‘disengaged’ numbers can be fluid, as learners re-engage or become disengaged from the process. At present, former Carillion apprentices who remain engaged with the process continue to be paid. The breakdown of apprentices is as follows:CategoryEngland ApprenticesIn paid employment699Pending: Terms and Conditions agreed with new employer76Sub Total - official receiver reporting as successfully employed775Moved into full time education1Successful outcomes as per the official receiver776Carillion reporting as Active (learner is engaged with matching process and actively seeking future employment)225Carillion reporting as disengaged (learner remains currently not engaged in matching process, despite numerous targeted communications)147Sub total372Total agreed as starting point 1148(Figures updated by Carillion Training Services / Carillion and CITB 13 June 2018)

Social Work: Higher Education

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of students who are studying social work in higher education settings in the West Midlands.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) collects and publishes data on students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions, including information on subject of study. Subjects are categorised using the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS). More information on JACS codes can be found at:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs.The following table contains the numbers of full person equivalent entrants to courses categorised as social work at higher education institutions in the West Midlands and in England.Full person equivalent1 enrolments on social work2 courses by level of studyHigher Education Institutions in the West Midlands and EnglandAcademic Years 2016/17 Region of institutionLevel of studyWest MidlandsEnglandPostgraduate (research)35390Postgraduate (taught)1,47511,915First degree3,64020,595Other undergraduate8354,685Total5,98037,585Source: DfE analysis of the HESA student recordCounts rounded to the nearest five so may not sum exactly to totalsCounts are on the basis of full-person-equivalents. Where a student is studying more than one subject, they are apportioned between the subjects that make up their course.Subjects are categorised using JACS 3.0 principal subject ‘L5 – Social Work’.

Languages: Recruitment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the recruitment of foreign language support staff in the UK.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Department officials are working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Home Office, including on matters of educational workforce supply needs as we leave the EU and move to a new UK migration framework. Regular discussions are held at ministerial level regarding EU withdrawal. The government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration including education workforces and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU. We have welcomed their interim report, and look forward to their full report in the autumn, before coming to any conclusions on what the future arrangements will mean for educational workforces post EU exit.

Students: Debts

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effect of long-term student debt on the mental well-being of people with such debt.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Student loans have more favourable terms than commercial loans, and for lower earning graduates, the system works like a graduate contribution. Repayments are taken at the rate of 9% of income above £25,000 with borrowers earning less than this, repaying nothing at all. If a borrower’s income drops, so do their monthly deductions. Loans are cancelled after 30 years – no commercial loan provides this level of borrower protection.Student mental health is a priority for this government. In December 2017, the Department for Health and the Department for Education published a joint green paper on Children and Young People’s mental health. The green paper set out plans to transform specialist services and support in education settings and for families, including government’s plans to set up a new national strategic partnership focused on improving the mental health of 16-25 year olds.The Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education will continue to work together to improve mental health support for young people.

Schools: Staff

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he make it his policy to collect data on (a) vacancy rates and (b) turnover of school support staff in the School Workforce Census.

Nick Gibb: Whilst data is collected regarding teacher and headteacher vacancies, no data is collected by the Department of vacancies for school support staff. The Department trusts headteachers to use their professional judgement to make decisions on support staff requirements for their schools to meet the specific needs of their schools and pupils.

Ministry of Justice

Plastic Surgery: Negligence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds information on the number of legal clinical negligence cases involving cosmetic procedures there have been in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Women's Centres: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on improving the provision of women’s centres to reduce the number of short-term prison sentences given to women in the West Midlands.

Edward Argar: On 27 June we published our female offender strategy, which sets out the Government’s commitment to a new programme of work for female offenders. We want to see fewer women in custody, especially on short-term sentences, and a greater proportion of women managed in the community successfully. We recognise that short custodial sentences do not deliver the best results for all offenders, particularly female offenders, and that there is persuasive evidence that short custodial sentences of less than 12 months are less effective in reducing reoffending than community penalties. That is why, as part of the strategy, we have committed to working with local and national partners to develop a pilot for ‘residential women’s centres’ in at least five sites across England and Wales. The aim of the pilot will be to develop a robust evidence base about what could be effective, sustainable and scalable models for improving outcomes for female offenders and reducing the numbers and frequency of women entering and re-entering custody on short custodial sentences. We will take a consultative approach to identifying the most suitable sites, and designing and delivering the pilot models. We are also investing £5m over two years in community provision for women. As part of this, we have launched an initial £3.5m grant competition for 2018/19 and 2019/20 for community services and multi-agency, whole system approaches across England and Wales. The grant competition for 2018/19 will close on 29 August this year. We recognise that the availability and sustainability of women-specific provision, such as women’s centres, is essential for ensuring that we can deliver the vision we have outlined in the strategy.

Trials

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his policy that guilty pleas entered online will not accrue more credit than guilty pleas not entered online.

Rory Stewart: The Sentencing Council Guideline on Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea sets out the procedure for applying a discount in sentence in all appropriate cases, irrespective of whether a defendant chooses to make their plea by post, on-line or in person in court.

Serco: Criminal Investigation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which Minister of his Department has responsibility for liaising with the Serious Fraud Office in relation to their ongoing criminal investigation into Serco.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings with Serco did each Minister of his Department have in 2017.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings Serco had with Ministers in his Department in total in 2017.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings with the Serious Fraud Office each Minister of his Department had in 2017.

Rory Stewart: Where concerns are raised by the Serious Fraud Office that relate to the activity of private providers contracted by the Ministry of Justice, it is the lead Minister with responsibility for the area in question that will lead the liaison with the Serious Fraud Office. In relation to the current investigation, as this is an issue in Rory Stewart’s area – he will act as the lead Minister. No meetings between Serious Fraud Office officials and MoJ Ministers took place in 2017. The total number of meetings between Ministry of Justice Ministers and Serco in 2017 was 4, this excludes ministerial visits to sites operated by Serco. In 2017 David Lidington met Serco officials on two occasions as did Sam Gyimah.

Cannabis

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) cautioned for cannabis possession offences in each police authority area in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: The number of people prosecuted and cautioned for cannabis possession in each police authority area can be found in the attached table.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 15.56 KB)

Offensive Weapons: Sentencing

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to increase the length of prison sentences recommended for people caught in possession of bladed weapons in public.

Rory Stewart: Knife crime can have devastating consequences and the government is determined to take action to address serious violence. Sentencing is a matter for our independent judiciary but anyone who continues to carry a knife in public can expect to face a custodial sentence. In 2015, Parliament agreed a minimum custodial sentence for a second or subsequent conviction for possession of a bladed article or offensive weapon. For adults, this is a minimum sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment whilst for 16 and 17 year olds the Act created a minimum custodial sentence of a 4 month Detention and Training Order (DTO). Since the introduction of the minimum custodial term people caught carrying a knife for a second time are now more likely than ever before to go to prison – recent statistics show that 83% of offenders received a custodial sentence for repeat possession offences in 2017.

Sentencing: Females

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women were sentenced to prison for less than (a) three months and (b) six months for each Home Office offence code in 2017.

Edward Argar: The number of women sentenced to prison for (a) up to and including 3 months and (b) over 3 months and up to and including 6 months for each Home Office offence code in 2017 can be viewed in the table attached.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 20.63 KB)

Department for International Trade

Trade: Republic of Ireland

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value has been of trade between the UK and the Republic of Ireland (a) in total, (b) across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland border and (c) between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland in each of the last three years.

Graham Stuart: Estimates of the value of UK trade in goods and services with Ireland (up to 2016) are available from the ONS Pink Book 2017: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/datasets/9geographicalbreakdownofthecurrentaccountthepinkbook2016 Goods and services, £bn201420152016UK exports of goods and services to Ireland27.927.026.7UK imports of goods and services from Ireland17.818.520.8UK trade in goods and services with Ireland45.745.547.4Source: ONS Pink Book 2017. Data on a Balance of Payments basis. Trade figures may not sum up due to rounding differences. More timely estimates, for trade in goods only, going up to April 2018 are available from the ONS (user requested data):https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/adhocs/008596individualcountrydatagoodsonamonthlybasisfromjanuary1998toapril2018Goods only, £bn201520162017UK exports of goods to Rep. Ireland17.417.219.7UK imports of goods from Rep. Ireland12.713.614.9UK trade in goods with Rep. Ireland30.230.834.6 Source: ONS user-requested data (published 18th June 2018). Data on a Balance of Payments basis. Trade figures may not sum up due to rounding differences. Estimates of the value of trade in goods between Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland are available from HMRC’s interactive trade database (‘Build Your Own Data Tables’). Similar estimates for trade in services are not available. https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/BuildYourOwnTables/Pages/Home.aspxGoods only, £bn201520162017NI exports of goods to Rep. Ireland2.22.42.7NI imports of goods from Rep. Ireland2.01.92.1NI trade in goods with Rep. Ireland4.24.34.8(RTS Data)Source: HMRC Regional Trade Statistics 2018Q1. Data on a ‘physical movement’ basis. Trade figures may not sum up due to rounding differences. Estimates of the value of trade in goods between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland are available from HMRC’s interactive trade database (‘Build Your Own Data Tables’). Similar estimates for trade in services are not available. https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/BuildYourOwnTables/Pages/Home.aspx(RTS Data)Goods only, £bn201520162017GB exports of goods to Ireland13.513.615.1GB imports of goods from Ireland9.29.89.9GB trade in goods with Ireland22.823.525.0Source: HMRC Regional Trade Statistics 2018Q1. Data on a ‘physical movement’ basis. Trade figures may not sum up due to rounding differences. Note: The ONS estimates in (a) above are on a Balance of Payments (‘change of ownership’) basis while the HMRC estimates in (b) and (c) are on a ‘physical movement’ basis, hence the two datasets are not comparable.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list the (a) number and (b) subject of directions made by his Department to local authorities since 2015.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not collected centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Refuges: Females

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of refuges for BAME women that have closed in the last twelve months.

Nigel Adams: Domestic abuse is a life-shattering and absolutely abhorrent crime. Refuges play a valuable role, and for some victims, they will be the best option for them.My Department does not hold information on the number of refuges for BAME women that have closed within the last twelve months.We expect local areas to assess their need of services and support for victims of domestic abuse and to provide for that need.The MHCLG Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services, which sets out what steps local areas should take in their response to domestic abuse, includes the need to consider provision for BAME victims. Our Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services are clear that local areas should respond to the needs of all domestic abuse victims, including those from isolated and/or marginalised communities, such as BAME women.We encourage all commissioners to work with their local BAME specialist providers and assess properly the needs of all BAME victims.

Social Media: Hate Crime

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of Hope Not Hate's report of February 2018 on Cloudflare and the hosting of illegal content on edge servers in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We have read with interest Hope not Hate's report of February 2018 on Cloudflare and the hosting of illegal content. We will address the issue of illegal content on edge servers in the UK as part of the refresh of the Hate Crime Action Plan which will be published later this year.

Electric Cables: Standards

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will open a consultation on raising cable standards to a minimum of Euro Classification Cca to seek to prevent the spread of fire in an emergency and increase public safety.

Dominic Raab: The independent review of building regulations and fire safety, which recently reported, made a number of recommendations about the testing and labelling of products with safety implications. The Government is considering its response to the recommendations. As part of that process, the Government will review evidence related to the classification of electrical cabling.

Homelessness

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle homelessness in the UK.

Nigel Adams: This Government remains clear that one person without a home is one too many, and we are committed to preventing and reducing homelessness and Rough Sleeping.To achieve this, we have taken a number of important actions, including implementing the most ambitious legislative reform in decades The Homelessness Reduction Act came into force in April 2018.We have established the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce that will bring forward the implementation of a cross-Government strategy, to achieve our commitment of halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027.Supporting the Taskforce is the expert Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel. In addition, the Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and Rough Sleeping through to 2020.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report entitled Everybody In: How to end homelessness in Great Britain, published by Crisis in 2018, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of that report; and if he will make an assessment of the validity of that report's findings on the merits of building 100,500 social homes each year.

Nigel Adams: The Government is aware homelessness is an issue which goes beyond Westminster, which is why the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel was set up. The panel, of which Crisis CEO Jon Sparkes is a member, provides evidence-based advice which the Government will consider ahead of the upcoming Rough Sleeping Strategy.This Government is pleased at how aligned the report is with actions we have already taken. The campaign calls for the implementation of schemes such as Housing First. In last autumn’s budget with £28 million worth of funding was announced for pilots in Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands.We are committed to increasing the supply of new social homes. We are investing over £9 billion in affordable housing, and on June 26, this Department announced we will deliver a further 23,000 affordable homes, including at least 12,500 at social rent in high-cost areas, in a move to support families struggling to pay their rent. We have also invited local authorities in high affordability pressure areas to bid for a share of £1 billion extra borrowing to build much-needed homes.

Homelessness

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report entitled Everybody In: How to end homelessness in Great Britain, published by Crisis in 2018, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the proposals in that report; and if he will make a statement.

Nigel Adams: The Government is aware homelessness goes beyond just Westminster, which is why the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel was set up. The panel, of which Crisis CEO Jon Sparkes is a member, provides evidence-based advice which the Government will consider ahead of the upcoming Rough Sleeping Strategy.This Government is pleased at the manner in which the report is aligned with our actions. For example, the report calls for the implementation of schemes such as Housing First. In last autumn’s budget, £28 million of funding was announced for pilots in Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands. These pilots will support around 1,000 people, including some of the most long-term rough sleepers.

Antisemitism

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the April 2018 final update to the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism, when he plans to hold the Departmental roundtable on concerns relating to the media which was agreed by his predecessor.

Nigel Adams: Following the ministerial roundtable with social media companies on 19 December 2017, it was agreed to host a similar roundtable with the print media. The roundtable will focus on the impact stories in the print media have on social media. Plans are already underway and the roundtable will be held before the end of the year.

Homelessness: Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds who presented as homeless in 2017-18 (a) did not receive a formal assessment under the Housing Act 1996 or the Children Act 1989 and (b) received a joint assessment by children's services and housing services.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statutory guidance, Prevention of homelessness and provision of accommodation for 16 and 17 year old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation, how many children in need aged 16 and 17 were accommodated in the accommodation listed in paragraphs 5.10, 5.11, 5.12 and 5.13 of that guidance in the last year for which data is available.

Nigel Adams: The Department currently holds limited data on 16 and 17 year olds receiving support under housing legislation, including the numbers accepted for assistance and types of temporary accommodation provided to them. On the 31 December 2017, 20 households headed by 16-17 year olds were living in the accommodation listed in paragraph 5.10, that is (unsuitable) bed and breakfast or nightly paid accommodation with shared facilities. A further 40 households in hostel-type accommodation were reported by local authorities, but it is not possible to determine from the data whether or not these were or were not suitable placements as recommended in the guidance. The Department is overhauling statutory homelessness data collection alongside the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act. This will give us case-level data and better insights into the causes of homelessness and the support homeless applicants need and receive, including accommodation provided under homelessness legislation. The new statutory homelessness data collection arrangements, known as H-CLIC, were implemented by local authorities in England from April 2018. We expect to see improved data relating to youth homelessness as a result of this change. Additionally, many 16 and 17 year olds who are homeless or require accommodation will be provided with accommodation and support under the Children’s Act 1989.

Affordable Housing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local communities are involved in the development of homes on Entry Level Exception Sites.

Dominic Raab: Planning applications for entry level exception sites, as proposed in the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework, will be subject to public consultation, as with all planning applications.

Social Rented Housing: Mental Illness

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to estimate the number of people with mental health problems on social housing waiting lists.

Nigel Adams: Local authorities are required by law to ensure that ‘reasonable preference’ (ie priority) for social housing is given to those who need to move on medical and welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability. Statutory allocations guidance makes clear that this would include a mental illness or disorder.The annual Local Authority Housing Statistical return collects data on households on the waiting list for each of the reasonable preference criteria: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2016-to-2017In 2016/17, there were 108,858 households that met medical and welfare reasonable preference criteria.

Supported Housing: Finance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the funding model for short-term supported housing and sheltered housing incentivises new development to meet both current and future demand.

Nigel Adams: With demand for supported housing set to increase, changes made to the system now will be vital in securing the future of the sector. Our approach to funding reform must both help protect current provision and boost new supply. We want our proposals to put funding for the sector on a long-term sustainable basis, promoting investment in new development, whilst ensuring value for money. We have taken stock of consultation responses and will be responding on this soon.

Supported Housing: Finance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with smaller providers on the definition of short-term supported housing; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that those homes and services are not put at risk as a result of any new arrangements for funding housing costs.

Nigel Adams: We have been engaging closely with providers, including smaller ones. We know how important short-term supported accommodation is to vulnerable people when they have faced a crisis in their lives – and supply of good quality hostels and refuges is an important part of our response to ending rough sleeping. We are committed to protecting this provision and the vulnerable people who rely on it. We have been listening carefully and believe that our forthcoming proposals will reflect this.

Supported Housing: Finance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) his and (b) other Government Departments have carried out an economic assessment of the amount of money supported and sheltered housing schemes save the public purse annually.

Nigel Adams: Supported housing is a vital service in a country that works for all. It brings savings to other parts of the public sector, such as health and social care, as well as helping those services to deliver better outcomes for vulnerable people. Analysis by my Department in 2016, based on a report commissioned from Frontier Economics on Specialist Housing in 2010, estimated that the net fiscal benefit of providing supported housing is £3.53 billion per annum. We are clear that our approach on supported housing must continue to underpin the vital contribution that supported housing makes to the country.

Sheltered Housing: Finance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to ensure that that the funding model for sheltered housing will take into account the need for service charges to reflect the actual costs of providing services.

Nigel Adams: Sheltered and extra care housing plays a vital role in maintaining independence for older people. I am clear, therefore, that our approach for sheltered housing must give providers the certainty they need to maintain current provision and invest in new supply. We have been engaging closely with providers to ensure that we achieve this, whilst recognising the need for proportionate oversight and transparency. We will be responding to our consultation on this shortly.

Fire Prevention

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government of 16 May 2018, Official Report, column 399,what discussions he has had with Abacus Land 4 Ltd, the freeholder at Heysmoor Heights in Liverpool, in relation to funding cladding removal; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: I spoke with Richard Silva, the Chief Executive of Long Harbour which administer Abacus Land 4 Ltd, on 23 May. Mr Silva informed me that Abacus Land 4 Ltd is owned by pension fund holders. I affirmed the Government's position that leaseholders should not have to pay for the removal and replacement of unsafe aluminium composite material cladding in the Heysmoor Heights building.We expect building owners in the private sector to explore all options to protect leaseholders from incurring the costs associated with replacing unsafe cladding. The Secretary of State recently held roundtables with leaseholders to understand their concerns and with industry to discuss the barriers to remediation and potential solutions. We are considering the proposals made and have not ruled out any options.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the Department has to develop local connection criteria for the homes built on Entry Level Exception Sites.

Dominic Raab: The draft National Planning Policy Framework proposal for Entry Level Exception Sites did not include a local connection criteria. The policy is designed to provide additional housing for first time buyers and renters, where it is needed. This will not always involve a local connection. This was consulted on as part of the draft National Planning Policy Framework. We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will publish the final National Planning Policy Framework in the summer.

Sheltered Housing: Service Charges

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with sheltered housing providers on their concerns on the effect of any caps on service charges on their ability to adapt to meet the changing needs of their residents.

Nigel Adams: Ministers and officials have been engaging closely with sheltered accommodation and extra care housing providers. We value the role this type of housing plays in enabling older people to maintain their independence and are clear our approach to sheltered housing must enable providers to continue delivering these important services for their vulnerable residents.

Funerals

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of Public Health Funerals arranged by local authorities or local hospitals in every year since 2005.

Rishi Sunak: The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government does not collect the information requested. Figures on local authority expenditure on, and income from, the provision of cemetery, cremation and mortuary services, including closed churchyards and post-mortem services within mortuaries, are collected on the Revenue Outturn (RO) form available from:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2016-to-2017-individual-local-authority-data-outturn

Temporary Accommodation

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for increases in the number of households in temporary accommodation in England since 2010.

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children living in temporary accommodation in Blackburn.

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of regional disparity in the number of households in temporary accommodation; and how many households are living in temporary accommodation in Blackburn.

Nigel Adams: There has been a rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation for a variety of complex reasons. The number of households in temporary accommodation varies across the country as there are different issues in different areas, e.g. affordability pressure in London and the South East.England has a strong homelessness safety net, providing protection to the most vulnerable in our society. Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no child or family is without a roof over their head.Successful homelessness prevention and relief has risen by 30 per cent between 2009/10 and 2016/17. However, the Government remains clear that one person without a home is one too many. We are committed to doing more to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place.That’s why we have implemented the most ambitious legislative reform in decades, the Homelessness Reduction Act.We have also committed £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping including:· £316 million of core funding for local authorities to prevent homelessness.· £617 million in Flexible Homelessness Support Grant which local authorities can use strategically to prevent and tackle homelessness in their area;· £72.7 million to support the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act;· £20m Access to the Private Rented Sector Fund to increase access and sustainment of tenancies for those who are, or at risk of becoming homeless; and· our £50 million to support 84 projects delivering an end-to-end approach to homelessness prevention.MHCLG publishes regular statistics on temporary accommodation, rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief in England. These are published at a local authority level. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics

Optical Fibres: Non-domestic Rates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for the rating of fibre communications infrastructure when the five year moratorium on rating of new fibre infrastructure expires.

Rishi Sunak: The business rates relief for new fibre communications infrastructure supports telecom companies who invest in their fibre network by installing new fibre lines.The relief will ensure that no rates are paid on those new fibre lines for 5 years up to 31 March 2022. This will provide important support in the early stages of roll out of new investment. As with all tax reliefs, the Government will keep under review the operation of the new fibre relief scheme.

Homelessness: Temporary Accommodation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether new statistics to be published from December 2018 on (a) statutory homelessness, (b) homelessness prevention and relief and (c) temporary accommodation will be directly comparable with previous statistics published by his Department.

James Brokenshire: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Defence

Saudi Arabia: Military Aircraft

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2018 to Question 149016 on Saudi Arabia: military aircraft, how the Government defines the term issue of weapons.

Guto Bebb: The term covers the release of any munition, whether drill, practice or live, from its place of storage to an end user either for holding, transportation or loading to an aircraft.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints were made to the Service Complaints Ombudsman in the last 12 months for which data are available; and how many complaints otherwise made were resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant without recourse to the Ombudsman's office.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The most recent information about the number of Service Complaints dealt with by the Services, and the number of investigations carried out by the Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO), is included in the 2017 Annual Report of the SCO.The latest Annual Report - and those for previous years - can be accessed on the SCO's website at the following link:https://www.servicecomplaintsombudsman.org.uk/service-complaints-ombudsman/publications-and-reports/annual-reports/The Annual Report for 2017 shows that the Services received 1,009 Service Complaints. It is not possible to determine how many of these specific complaints were not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant and subsequently referred to the SCO; indeed, some referrals may not have been made until this year. Therefore, the figure of 406 complaint investigations carried out by the SCO which appears in the 2017 Annual Report does not relate directly to those 1,009 complaints received by the Services in the same year. The data would, however, appear to indicate that a significant proportion of Service Complaints are resolved without recourse to the SCO.

Defence: Scotland

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of investment in land equipment programmes on the Scottish defence industry.

Guto Bebb: The Defence Industry in Scotland continues to play an important role in delivering cutting-edge capabilities for our Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes regional expenditure statistics, although these are not broken down by defence programme. In 2016-17, the MOD spent £1.592 billion with UK Industry and commerce in Scotland, sustaining 10,500 jobs. Further details can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-201617

Forces Help to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 153189 on Forces Help to Buy Scheme, when he plans to announce whether the Forces Help to Buy scheme will continue beyond December 2018.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 153189 on Forces Help to Buy Scheme, whether he has allocated Departmental funding to the Forces Help to Buy scheme beyond December 2018.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Forces Help to Buy scheme recipients there are by household income.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The aim of the Forces Help To Buy (FHTB) scheme is to encourage and support home ownership amongst Service personnel, which has historically been lower than the general population. The Secretary of State for Defence is highly supportive of FHTB. FHTB applications are based solely on the income of the applicant. Household income data is not collected.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to Written Statement of 18 June 2018, HCWS770 on Contingent Liability, if he will pause the Defence Fire and Rescue project as a result of concerns on the financial health of the selected bidder.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Capita's bid for the provision of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service has been subjected to the fullest range of scrutiny within Government, including by Her Majesty's Treasury and the Cabinet Office. This included an assessment of all the bidding company's financial sustainability and their ability to deliver the required services. Capita's bid represents the opportunity to enhance the safety of firefighting personnel and for investment in improved equipment and training for personnel. The contract is also underpinned by contingency plans that ensure should there be a change in circumstances the Department will continue to have a global fire and rescue capability to sustain its operations and Departmental safety.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2018 to Question 153784, on how many occasions he has met the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in a bilateral meeting.

Gavin Williamson: I have not had a formal bilateral but have attended several meetings with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Aircraft Carriers: Repairs and Maintenance

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which dry dock facilities in the UK are under consideration as a future maintenance base for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which dry dock facilities in the UK are of sufficient size to house the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Scottish shipyard industry on future maintenance of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Guto Bebb: The following dry-dock facilities in the UK are of a sufficient size to accommodate the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers: Able UK, Seaton Port, Teeside; Babcock, Rosyth; Cammell Laird, Birkenhead; Cammell Laird, Greenock (Inchgreen); Harland and Wolff, Belfast. Plans for the dry-docking of QEC aircraft carriers are currently under consideration as part of a commercial competitive process. It would be inappropriate to comment on which locations are under consideration until that process has been concluded and a contract has been awarded, as to do so would prejudice commercial interests. For the same reason I cannot comment on any engagement with industry in relation to the dry-docking of QEC aircraft carriers.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many duty holders were consulted during the Defence Fire and Rescue Project contract bidding process.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Defence Fire and Rescue Project contract will provide significantly improved safety for the Ministry of Defence and its firefighters through investment in modern firefighting vehicles and improved fire risk management systems.To provide the precise number of Duty Holders could be done only at disproportionate cost. Defence and Duty Holder requirements have been fully addressed throughout the Defence Fire and Rescue Project process. This included the involvement of representatives from areas of the Department, which draw extensively on fire and rescue services, including Air and Joint Helicopter Commands. Duty Holders will continue to be consulted about any proposed changes to fire risk mitigation strategies prior to their implementation through the life of the contract.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department offers families in receipt of universal credit to meet the cost of childcare deposits.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support her Department provides to families in receipt of universal credit to meet the costs of childcare deposits.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to reduce the waiting time for the reimbursement of upfront childcare deposits for families in receipt of universal credit.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made and assessment of the financial effect on low-income families in receipt of universal credit of upfront childcare costs; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report Making Childcare Work: Fixing upfront childcare costs for families on universal credit, published by Save the Children on 21 June 2018, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of  upfront childcare costs under universal credit on the level of debt incurred by low-income families.

Alok Sharma: DWP continues to continuously improve the Universal Credit experience for claimants and to ensure that they are supported throughout their journey. For those with children, this includes ensuring that help with up front childcare costs is available for Universal Credit households with a low income. Claimants with a firm job offer can claim Universal Credit Childcare costs up to 1 month prior to starting work to enable their children to settle into a new routine. We also offer extra support to enable parents to pay upfront childcare costs or deposits: for example, claimants may be eligible to receive an advance of their future Universal Credit entitlement, which is interest free. Work coaches and claimants work together to ensure that, where this is taken up, repayments are affordable and manageable. If a budgeting advance is not appropriate, the Flexible Support Fund may also provide assistance. Payments from this fund are non-repayable, and are managed locally to provide tailored and targeted support for claimants to move into work. From February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account: most claimants reporting their in-month childcare costs are not asked to provide further evidence.

Universal Credit: Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of universal credit payments made (a) for the housing element directly to landlords and (b) more frequently than monthly.

Alok Sharma: The available information on the number of payments made for the housing element directly to landlords is published and can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html The information requested on the proportion of payments made more frequently than monthly is not currently available. In response to requests for information on Universal Credit we have consulted users on the expansion of Universal Credit statistics and are currently reviewing the responses.

Social Security Benefits: Equality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the way in which benefits are paid to a household do not facilitate abuse or condone inequality in relationships.

Alok Sharma: Research carried out for the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that only 2 per cent of married couples and 7 per cent of cohabiting couples keep their finances completely separate. So the starting point in Universal Credit is one single monthly payment which people in the household then manage as they see fit. We recognise that there will be circumstances in which this is not appropriate and so split payments are also available. This option is designed to prevent hardship to claimants and their families, where there is vulnerability in the household leading to financial mismanagement. Where a claimant suffering from domestic abuse asks for a split payment we will support them in putting this arrangement in place.

Universal Credit: Domestic Violence

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent exceptional split payments of universal credit that require the disclosure of abuse.

Alok Sharma: We do not require formal disclosure of abuse to establish split payments for Universal Credit claimants, and we do not ask for any evidence relating to the abuse. An individual can be accompanied by a representative from a third party organisation to provide expert support when disclosing domestic abuse to a work coach.All personal information is treated in confidence, and we do not disclose information to third parties without explicit consent. If requested, we can provide access to a private area where information can be disclosed.

Department for Work and Pensions: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to (a) improve and (b) extend training on (i) domestic  (ii) financial and (iii) economic abuse to staff in her Department.

Alok Sharma: In April 2018 we updated our Universal Credit learning products to include additional information on domestic abuse, covering physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and financial abuse, and controlling and coercive behaviour. These products are regularly reviewed.Our jobcentre staff undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality service to claimants.Specific training and guidance is provided for staff who work with different vulnerable groups, including people who have been the victims of domestic abuse. Work coaches can also signpost claimants to national and local organisations who provide specialist support.

Universal Credit: Domestic Violence

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the suitability of the universal credit single payment in cases of financial abuse towards one person in a couple.

Kit Malthouse: We have made an assessment about the suitability of Universal Credit single payments in cases of financial abuse towards one person in a couple. This was outlined in the attached letter, dated 15 May 2018, to the Work and Pensions Select Committee.



Letter to the Work and Pensions Select Committee
(PDF Document, 292.95 KB)

Jobcentres: Occupational Therapy

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will put in place agreements to support direct working between occupational therapists and the Jobcentre Plus network.

Sarah Newton: In our Command Paper, Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability, we announced wider support to assist people with health conditions and disabilities in moving closer to the labour market. We are testing a three-way voluntary conversation between customers, work coaches and healthcare professionals, such as occupational therapists, and we will make decisions on further rollout in due course.

Universal Credit

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of the reasons for the difference in the level of rent areas for housing association tenants who are (a) in receipt of universal credit and (b) not in receipt of universal credit.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not have access to such rent arrears figures to make such an assessment. Research does show, however, that many people do come onto Universal Credit with existing rent arrears. We also know that arrears are usually temporary and the majority of claimants do succeed in paying their rent, managing their monthly payments and clearing their arrears over time. In our research, the proportion of Universal Credit claimants who were in arrears at the start of their claim fell by a third after four months.We are carrying out further analysis of this issue with a number of housing providers, to investigate and understand the true level of rent arrears for their tenants, what is causing them and any impacts Universal Credit may be having. It will be published when completed.

Social Security Benefits: Kidney Diseases

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance and support her Department (a) is providing to and (b) has mandated from agencies managing assessments for (i) personal independence payments and (ii) employment support allowance for people with renal failure.

Sarah Newton: Guidance for Health Professionals carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments is provided in the PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals. The PIP assessment is designed to treat people as individuals, considering the impact of their disability or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability, rather than the disability itself. Therefore the PIP Assessment Guide takes account of the functional impacts of all conditions, including renal failure.The PIP Assessment Guide can be found here: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment guide for assessment providers - GOV.UK For Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Health Professionals also have access to the Work Capability Assessment Handbook which sets out circumstances when a claimant can be treated as having limited capability for work which includes if they are undergoing regular treatment including haemodialysis for chronic renal failure.

Social Security Benefits: Kidney Diseases

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) medical and (b) circumstantial considerations in addition to an assessment report from a private agency her Department uses for people with renal failure when processing their (i) personal independence payments and (ii) employment support allowance claim.

Sarah Newton: As two people with the same condition can be affected in different ways, there is no condition-based entitlement to Personal Independence Payments or Employment and Support Allowance. The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as is possible to support any claims for benefits. For Personal Independence Payment (PIP), our guidance for Health Professionals sets out the sources of evidence which could help inform the decision making process on PIP entitlement. Sources include evidence from other Health Professionals, family members, carers, and the claimant’s own views of the impact of their health condition on their everyday lives. Detailed information can be found in Part 1 of the PIP Assessment Guide on GOV.UK. We have also recently launched a series of videos outlining the claim process in a simple and clear way and what the best sources of evidence to provide are. ESA Claimants are also encouraged to provide all evidence they have that is relevant to their case at the outset of their claim, including medical evidence supplied by their GP or other professionals, such as support workers, carers and community mental health nurses. This is outlined in Part one of the Work Capability Assessment Handbook on GOV.UK. The Decision Makers for both benefits will consider all available evidence and seek more if required to help reach their decision.

Funeral Payments

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funeral expenses payment in covering average funeral costs.

Kit Malthouse: The Department has not carried out such an assessment. Funeral costs vary by circumstance, and the Funeral Expenses Payments scheme continues to make a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple funeral for claimants on certain income based benefits or tax credits.The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment scheme meets the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants, with the average Funeral Expenses Payment increasing year-on-year to meet the necessary costs. We also provide up to £700 for other costs. In 2016/17, my department made approximately 27,000 Funeral Expenses Payments, costing around £38.6 million.In addition to Funeral Expenses Payments, my department provides interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans to help meet additional funeral costs for eligible claimants.

Personal Independence Payment

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of outstanding personal independence payments assessments, and (b) the length of time each such assessment has been pending; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: At the end of April 2018, 39,200 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) new claims and 36,200 Daily Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims which had been referred to the assessment provider were awaiting an assessment. The average (median) outstanding time for both new claims and reassessments was 3 weeks from the point of referral to the assessment provider. Notes:1. Outstanding assessments are defined as claims which have been referred to an assessment provider but which have not yet had a decision.2. Outstanding time is measured as the average time between the date of referral to the Assessment Providers and the date at the end of the reported calendar month, for all claims awaiting a return from the Assessment Provider, i.e. we check the number of claimants that were outstanding on the last day of each month and measure the period for which they have been outstanding.3. The median time is the middle value if you were to order all the times within the distribution from lowest value to highest value. The median is presented here instead of the mean because the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases (e.g. cases where the person has been hard to reach due to being in prison, hospital, or failed to attend the assessment on numerous occasions.4. The status of claims as 'normal rules' and 'new claim/reassessment' is the most recent known status for each claim.5. Data exclude Award Reviews6. Unpublished figures taken from the PIP Atomic Data Store.7. Figures exclude claims made under Special Rules for the Terminally Ill.8. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and whole number of weeks.9. Great Britain only.

Funeral Payments

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Funeral Expenses Payment claims there have been in each year since 2005.

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the average amount claimed for each funeral expenses payment in each year since 2005.

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of funeral expenses payment claims were successful in each year since 2005.

Kit Malthouse: Data on the amount claimed for Funeral Expenses Payments (FEPs) is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The number of FEP applications received by the DWP and awards as a proportion of FEP applications processed, in each calendar year since 2005, are given below in table 1. They are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. Figures are not given for 2018 as the calendar year is incomplete. Due to the timing of application processing, figures on awards may relate to applications processed in the previous year. Table 1: FEP applications received and proportion of FEP applications resulting in an award, Great Britain 2005 - 2017 YearApplications received (000s)Awards as a proportion of applications processed200568.562.5%200667.761.3%200763.861.3%200867.559.5%200968.958.3%201066.856.6%20117154.6%201266.454.4%201362.256.3%201452.559.1%201546.662.5%201644.360.9%201741.861.7% Source: Social Fund Policy, Budget, and Management Information System Notes: These figures do not include applications that were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.Figures on applications received differ from the number of applications processed by the DWP. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.The number of applications made in each year is not equal to the number of people who made applications in that year. An individual may make multiple applications in a given time period.The proportion of FEP claims resulting in an award is calculated by dividing the number of awards in a given year by the number of applications processed by the DWP in a given year. The number of awards used in this calculation includes awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to prevent claimants from experiencing financial hardship as a result of the process of migrating legacy benefits to universal credit in 2019.

Alok Sharma: We have always said that there will be transitional protection for those claimants with existing premiums whose overall Universal Credit entitlement would be less than under the old system, provided that their circumstances remain the same. We are bringing forward regulations in the Autumn which make provision for this and we have recently announced that we will introduce additional protections for claimants who currently receive the Severe Disability Premium.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on staff in her Department advising claimants of employment support allowance at tribunal to withdraw their appeal and submit a new claim for universal credit.

Sarah Newton: DWP Presenting Officers represent the Department at tribunals. It is not part of their role to advise claimants to withdraw their appeal and to make a claim for another benefit.

Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for her Department to (a) process a revised decision notice and (b) amend a claim for universal credit in (i) the UK and (ii) Easington constituency.

Alok Sharma: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Work Capability Assessment

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a Work Capability Assessment report includes observations of a claimant’s behaviour that is not included in the criteria for the assessment.

Sarah Newton: Guidance on how a Health Care Professional should conduct a face-to-face appointment for Employment and Support Allowance, including what to record in the assessment can be found in the Work Capability Assessment Handbook: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-handbook-for-healthcare-professionals. As paragraph 2.7.2 makes clear, informal observations are part of the information used to make Work Capability Assessment decisions.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the shortfall in the number of seasonal workers in (a) the horticultural sector and (b) other forms of agriculture (i) in 2018 and (ii) between April and October 2017; and what steps he is taking to prevent a shortfall in future years.

George Eustice: Peak demand for seasonal labour takes place in the third quarter of the year so it is too early to make an assessment for the current year. Defra’s best estimate of the number of seasonal workers is 64,200 from the June 2016 Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture, however industry have higher estimates. The ONS does not collect data on seasonal labour from the EU, so statistics on shortages in 2017 are not available.

Flowers: UK Trade with EU

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that florists maintain an uninterrupted supply of flowers from Europe after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The Government is committed to securing a deep and special partnership with the EU. Given the EU’s substantial trade surplus with the UK in this sector, it is clear that such a deal is in the interests of both sides and we are confident we can achieve it. The Government is working to ensure that the necessary systems and processes are in place so that trade continues to flow after we leave the EU. The EU is our biggest trading partner for horticultural products, including flowers. Ensuring as frictionless trade as possible for this sector is particularly important as much of the produce is perishable and time is critical. In preparing for the UK leaving the EU, we are considering our import controls for plants and their products for a range of scenarios, including a no deal scenario. We will ensure that plant health biosecurity standards will continue to be met in ways that support trade and the smooth flow of goods, as well as minimise new burdens on businesses.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 154651 on procurement, for how many days of each month each of those three individuals were contracted to work by his Department.

George Eustice: The table below sets out the number of days worked per month for each of the three individuals with a contracted daily rate of £1,000 or more as of 31 March 2018.   Number of Days Worked by MonthContractor AContractor BContractor CSeptember 2016220-October 2016125-November 2016619-December 2016414-January 2017421-February 2017519-March 2017520-April 2017322-May 2017313-June 2017120-July 2017215-August 2017319-September 2017119-October 20173249November 20172199December 201721916January 201831915February 201822016March 201821017

Livestock: Transport

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation on the live exports of farm animals.

George Eustice: We are currently analysing the responses from the Call for Evidence on controlling live exports of farm animals for slaughter and how to improve animal welfare during transport once the UK leaves the EU. We also asked the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) to look at what improvements could be made to the transport regulatory regime for all animals. We hope to receive the recommendations from the FAWC later in the year. In light of the evidence obtained and the FAWC report, we are planning to issue a Consultation setting out proposed policy reforms.

Special Protection Areas: Birds

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 15 June 2018 to Question 152799 on Special Protection Areas: Birds, for which of the potential Special Protection Areas he has received Natural England’s recommendation on classification; on what date was each such recommendation was received; and when he plans to classify those sites.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Ministers have received Natural England’s scientific advice for the following potential Special Protection Areas (SPAs): Bowland Fells (addition of lesser black backed gull) - 22 February 2013;Flamborough and Filey Coast (site extension) - 11 July 2013;Solway Firth (site extension) - 20 August 2015;Solent and Dorset Coast (new marine site) - 22 October 2015;Crouch and Roach Estuaries (site extension) - 30 March 2017; andTeesmouth and Cleveland Coast (site extension) - 22 June 2018. Ministers have yet to receive Natural England’s scientific advice regarding the Isles of Scilly SPA proposed site extension. The decision to formally classify the sites will be made following consideration of the respective public consultations and in view of other site designation priorities. The Secretary of State agreed to classify the Crouch and Roach Estuaries pSPA, which will be classified shortly. As a matter of Government policy, sites on which the Government has initiated public consultation on the scientific case for classification as a SPA are given the same protection as if formally classified.

Dogs: Electronic Training Aids

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce legislative proposals to ban the use of (a) electric remote hand-held devices on dogs and (b) electric containment devices for use near dogs; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra ran a public consultation exercise between 12 March and 27 April on a proposal to ban the use of electronic training collars. We are currently analysing the responses and will publish a summary of those responses and a way forward in due course.

Bread: Labelling

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to improve the labelling of bread to ensure that all ingredients and additives are included.

George Eustice: EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers requires that all pre-packaged loaves display a full ingredient list. The exemption of loaves sold at the point of production is made in the interests of reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on small businesses and bakeries while retaining essential relevant information for the consumer.  The EU withdrawal Bill will bring existing provisions on to a UK legal basis.

Tree Planting

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 14 February 2018 and 31 May 2018 to Questions 125838 and 146694 on Tree Planting and Forests, what his Department's policy is on the planting of 11 million trees during the course of this Parliament as referenced in the Conservative Party manifesto 2017.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is committed to achieving its manifesto commitment to plant 11 million trees over the course of this Parliament. A number of schemes support this, including the Woodland Creation Grant under Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund, the Woodland Creation Planning Grant, planting in the National Forest, and kick-starting the new Northern Forest. The Government has recently appointed a national Tree Champion who will help drive forward the commitment to plant 11 million trees.

Tree Planting

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees his Department has planted in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in the last 12 months.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The estimated numbers of trees planted with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs support in the 12 months from April 2017 to March 2018 were: a) In the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley – 900 treesb) In South Yorkshire – 4,890 treesc) In England – 1,763,649trees. These figures are based on the data used to produce the recent report “Government supported new planting of trees in England; report for 2017-18” available at https://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Government-supported-new-planting-trees-England-2017-18.pdf/$FILE/Government-supported-new-planting-trees-England-2017-18.pdf, as well as the 2017-18 Annual Report of the Trees for Schools programme. These figures include new planting of trees and exclude trees planted for restocking or replacement purposes. For the period in question the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was a source of support for all the recorded trees planted. Government grants for tree planting are awarded based on applications. In areas where fewer applications have been submitted, fewer trees have been planted.

Tree Planting: Schools

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of schools in (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire have received a portion of the money invested in the Trees for Schools Programme.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Over the lifetime of the Trees for Schools programme, tree packs have been provided to 16 schools in South Yorkshire, four of them in Barnsley. This equates to 2,640 trees in South Yorkshire, 900 of them in Barnsley.

Air Pollution: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to improve air quality and reduce air pollution throughout South Yorkshire.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the £3.5 billion assigned by the Government to the Air Quality Plan 2017 has been allocated to (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is firmly committed to improving the UK’s air quality and ensure we leave our environment in a better state than we inherited it. This is supported by a £3.5billion plan to improve air quality.   We have required 61 local authorities to develop local plans to deliver compliance with nitrogen dioxide limits as soon as possible. It is right that local authorities take the lead in developing local air quality plans as they know their local area best. The Government is supporting the local authorities with technical support in developing their plans and has committed £475m through the Implementation Fund and Clean Air Fund to provide them with funding for air quality improvements.   In South Yorkshire Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council have been required to develop a local plan and to date have been awarded £2,502,100 from the Implementation Fund to date to help carry out the work needed to develop air quality plans and to implement a number of early measures including: a project to install rapid charging points at key locations across Sheffield; a project to purchase electric taxis and lease them out to taxi drivers to raise awareness of the ULEV experience; a project to adapt traffic signals on Abbeydale Road to reduce the occasions when traffic stops, with a reduction in sitting traffic lowering emissions; and funding for air quality communications. Further funding will be made available when they present their final plans.   Additionally, since 2017 South Yorkshire has received nearly £10m to improve air quality with Sheffield City Region awarded £7,500,000 in 2017 to support active travel, Sheffield City Council awarded £1,946,800 through the Clean Bus Technology Fund 2017-19 to enable 117 buses to be retrofitted with pollution-reducing technology, and £125,000 awarded to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council through the air quality grant to improve local air quality in Barnsley and Doncaster.   Local authorities currently have a range of tools they can use to reduce local air pollution which includes the powers to introduce a Clean Air Zone voluntarily. The Government also provides guidance and technical support to local authorities via a dedicated local air quality management Helpdesk and has provided an air quality toolkit for Directors of Public Health.   Government has launched a consultation on a new Clean Air Strategy seeking views on a wider range of national measures and more powers to local authorities that can tackle non-transport sources of air pollution.

Floods: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the total cost of flooding in Denbighshire and Conwy to (a) the private sector, (b) the public sector, and (c) householders over the past 30 years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Flood management in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.

Fly-tipping: Urban Areas

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the powers available to local authorities to tackle fly-tipping in urban areas.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of fly-tipping in urban areas.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations his Department has received from local authorities on fly-tipping in urban areas in the last five years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is committed to tackling fly-tipping in both urban and rural areas. It is for local authorities to use the full range of enforcement powers available to tackle fly-tipping in their areas. We have recently strengthened these powers by introducing fixed penalty notices for small scale fly-tipping and enhancing the ability of local authorities to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. We have also consulted on proposals to introduce a new fixed penalty for householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper. As two thirds of fly-tipping contains household waste, these additional measures will give local authorities another tool to tackle fly-tipping.   The 2016/17 fly-tipping statistics for England were published last October. The statistics show a year-on-year increase in the number of fly-tipping incidents over the last five years. The statistics cover all local authorities and so represent both urban and rural areas. They are available publically and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england.   We engage with a variety of local authorities and the Local Government Association through the Defra-chaired National Fly-tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG) and work flowing from that. The NFTPG has been meeting regularly for over 10 years to share best practice in partnership working with a common aim to help prevent and tackle fly-tipping together.

Game: Animal Welfare

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the devolved administrations on the future review of each Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes applying to the respective nations.

George Eustice: We have an ongoing dialogue with the devolved administrations on animal welfare matters, which includes discussing plans to update the animal welfare codes. The case for reviewing the gamebird code remains under consideration.

Pigs: Organic Farming

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of organic pig herds in the UK; and how many such herds there were in the UK five years ago.

George Eustice: Whilst Defra does not collect data directly on the number or size of pig herds, we do collect estimates of the total number of organic pigs and number of holdings with organic pigs in the UK. The most recent estimate in the UK relates to 2017 data, where there were 58,787 organic pigs across 545 holdings, giving an average of 108 pigs per holding. Five years prior to this in 2012, there were 34,567 organic pigs across 541 holdings, giving an average of 64 pigs per holding.

Pigs: Antibiotics

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the trends in antibiotic usage in the UK pig sector over the most recent five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The latest data announced by the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board show that antibiotic use in the pig industry has fallen by 53% from 278 mg/kg in 2015 to 131 mg/kg in 2017. Defra recognises the progress that has been made and continues to work with the pig industry to implement their target to reduce antibiotic use to 99 mg/kg by 2020. This will be underpinned by improvements in biosecurity, husbandry practices and disease prevention.

Bread: Labelling

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to (a) require producers to list all ingredients in bread and (b) establish a definition of sourdough as being additive-free and leavened using only a culture of naturally occurring yeast.

George Eustice: The Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 and the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 both require that the labelling and advertising of food must not mislead the consumer. EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires that all pre-packaged loaves display a full ingredient list. A restricted number of additives are permitted in in sourdough bread under EC Regulation 1333/2008 – there are no plans at present to change these. However when we leave the EU there will be an opportunity to review this. The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 contain a few, limited definitions but the focus on the legislation is on the fortification of white and brown flour with certain nutrients, mostly for restorative purposes. There are no current plans to include a legal definition for sour dough within the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 but the baking industry itself may consider agreeing a code of practise about what should be described as a UK sourdough bread.

Forestry

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government is making on identifying Forestry Investment Zones as part of its Clean Growth Strategy.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Pursuant to PQ 149587, stakeholders in Cumbria are developing their proposition to pilot the first Forestry Investment Zone. More detail will be available later in the year.

Forestry

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether a short-list has been drawn up yet for the position of Tree Champion.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Sir William Worsley was appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as the national Tree Champion on 13 June:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tree-champion-to-expand-englands-woodland.

Tree Planting

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice he has sought from the Committee on Climate Change on tree-planting targets required to help meet UK climate change obligations.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, responds to advice from the Committee on Climate Change and sets out how we will continue to decarbonise the UK to meet our climate mitigation obligations. The Strategy confirmed the important role of tree planting in contributing to carbon budget commitments, particularly in later carbon budget periods. The Committee on Climate Change emphasised the importance of tree planting in its independent assessment of the Strategy, published in January this year and in their annual progress report, published on 28 June 2018. We are developing a long-term trajectory for woodland planting to contribute to 5-year carbon budgets and deliver the 2060 aspiration to increase woodland cover in England to 12%.

Home Office

Immigrants: Caribbean

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an estimate of the number of citizens of Caribbean birth currently living in the UK who in each year since 2010 (a) have been told they do not have the right to remain in the UK, (b) are awaiting deportation and (c) have been deported.

Caroline Nokes: The numbers of individuals from Caribbean Commonwealth countries removed or deported from the United Kingdom since 2010 is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2018

Immigrants: Caribbean

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what access to legal advice and representation was made available to Windrush generation detainees at the time of their detention.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps were taken by (a) her Department, (b) removal centres and (c) other organisations to inform the Windrush generation of their rights including their right to (i) challenge detention and (ii) seek bail.

Caroline Nokes: When an individual is detained they are served with a notice specifying the statutory power under which they have been detained, the reasons for their detention, the factors that have been taken into account in reaching the decision to detain and their entitlement to apply for bail. The notice also contains advice that the Home Office will notify a nominated individual of their detention. Since 15 January 2018 (the implementation of the Single Power of Bail IA 2016) all individuals detained are provided with the ‘Immigration Bail Information’ document by the detaining officer, which contains information on: when they can apply for immigration bail; how to make immigration bail applications to the Secretary of State; how to make immigration bail applications to the First-tier Tribunal; when they will be automatically referred for consideration for immigration bail; where they can obtain further information. Service providers at immigration removal centres (IRC) are required to provide the services of a welfare officer to signpost detainees to advice and assistance. Individuals in detention may also approach members of the Independent Monitoring Boards based in every IRC.All individuals who are detained are made aware of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an IRC. The Legal Aid Agency operates legal advice surgeries across the detention estate in England, with detainees receiving up to 30 minutes of advice without reference to financial eligibility or merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual in detention may attend. If they require substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid then full legal advice can be providedIndividuals in detention also have regulated access to the internet under the requirements set out in Detention Services Order DSO 04/2016 (Internet access). This enables them to independently identify contact details for immigration legal advisors. Legal reference material is stocked in all IRC libraries and each IRC has a welfare officer who can signpost individuals to information on how to access legal advice.

Immigrants: Caribbean

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of the Windrush generation have been detained; and for how long each person was detained.

Caroline Nokes: The Department is reviewing all immigration detentions, dating back to 2002, of Caribbean Commonwealth nationals now aged over 45 (i.e. born before 01/01/1973), to establish whether any could have entered the UK prior to 1973 and therefore might be protected by the Immigration Act 1971. As the Home Secretary stated to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on 6 June 2018, this work is due to be completed by the middle of July.The Home Secretary has committed to regularly updating the Home Affairs Select Committee on the findings of this review.

Home Office: Written Questions

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to Questions 136147, 136148 and 136149, tabled by the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark  on 17 April 2018.

Caroline Nokes: UIN 136147, 136148 and 136149 were answered on 26 June 2018.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the (a) level of incidence and (b) risk of the use in violent crime of (i) phosphoric acid, (ii) hydrochloric acid, (iii) sodium hydroxide, (iv) ammonia and (v) hydrofluoric acid.

Victoria Atkins: The table below sets out the substances identified as being used in attacks between November 2016 and April 2017 based on the returns from 39 police forces as part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council commissioned voluntary data collection. These figures must be treated with caution, as they are not official statistics. Furthermore, they are only available for cases where the substance was recorded by officers and reflect what the officers involved in the case believed the substance to be, based on the available evidence.Indicative figures for 408 acid or corrosive attacks broken down by substance Acid 56Ammonia 69Bleach 71Other stated substance 107Unknown liquid 74No information provided 31Total 408 Other stated substance included a range of diverse substances including boiling water, lighter fluid, petrol, CS and pepper spray and non-ammonia/bleach household cleaning products.The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead has undertaken a further data collection exercise with police forces to provide us with updated figures on the extent of corrosive substance attacks. We expect that the exercise will be completed shortly and will help inform our assessment on the current incidence and risk of corrosive substances being used in violent attacks.

Crimes of Violence: Gangs

Leo Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress is being made in tackling county lines criminal activity; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: We are absolutely committed to tackling county lines. The action we are taking is set out in the Serious Violence Strategy published on 9 April. We are delivering a cross-Government and agency programme of work to tackle county lines through the County Lines Action Plan (which is published as an Annex to the Serious Violence Strategy). Last December we introduced the Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Orders to enable police to shut down phone lines used to facilitate drug deals, and we have announced funding of £3.6million to establish a new National County Lines Co-Ordination Centre. Raising awareness of county lines and the appropriate safeguarding response is also very important. In July last year we published guidance on county lines for frontline practitioners to help them identify and respond to county lines exploitation and we are currently delivering a nationwide awareness-raising communications campaign.

Home Office: Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many account managers there are in his Department.

Victoria Atkins: There are eight MP Account Manager posts in the Home Department.

Crimes of Violence: Gangs

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Summary Report for the Commission on Gangs and Violence: Uniting to Improve Safety by Reverend Dr Carver Anderson, published in November 2017, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations in that report.

Victoria Atkins: The Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands launched the Commission on Gangs and Violence to critically assess the rise in serious violence and gang-related activities in Birmingham and to offer solutions to tackle the issue. The PCC is responsible for implementing the report’s recommendations.On 9 April 2018, the Government published a new Serious Violence Strategy to take action to address serious violence and in particular the recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. The strategy outlines our response under four key themes: tackling county lines and misuse of drugs; early intervention and prevention; supporting communities and local partnerships; and an effective law enforcement and criminal justice response. The response is based on evidence about the trends and drivers of serious violence and analysis of what works in terms of interventions.Our approach is not solely focused on law enforcement, very important as that is, but depends also on partnerships across a number of sectors such as education, health, social services, housing, youth services, victim services and others. In particular, the strategy stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of serious violence and provide young people with the skills and resilience to lead productive lives free from violence.

Home Office: Parental Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Victoria Atkins: Since 5 April 2015, 84 male staff in the Home Office have taken shared parental leave; and the average length of that leave was 13 weeks.

Human Trafficking

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department provides for police forces on their positive obligation to investigate allegations of trafficking; where such guidance is published; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: In line with other crimes, there is a positive obligation on police to record allegations of modern slavery under the National Crime Recording Standards. Once recorded, all crimes must be assessed, which constitutes an investigation. This guidance is published on gov.uk and is available via:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/694433/count-violence-apr-2018.pdf The College of Policing Approved Professional Practice (APP) provides further guidance to forces on modern slavery investigations. This guidance is published on the College of Policing APP website, available via:  https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/modern-slavery/

Drugs: Children

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will create a formal police referral system across forces to report children found with drugs to the police force and social services where the child is living.

Victoria Atkins: We are supporting the establishment of the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre by providing specific funding of £3.6 million over the next two years. The Centre is being established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead and the National Crime Agency and will help bring the law enforcement effort together and build better safeguarding links. The Centre will be fully operational later this year.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of Windrush generation people that were denied (a) benefits and (b) healthcare as a result of their immigration status being questioned.

Caroline Nokes: Information about individuals who have been denied access to benefits or services is not held by the Home Office.We set up a task force in April to help people from the Windrush generation to evidence their status and access the services they are entitled to.The Home Office has sent out communications urging other government departments and public authorities to exercise particular care when responding to applications for benefits and services from the Windrush generation. The Home Office will be notifying NHS Trusts in situations where individuals are issued with documentation by the Taskforce . This is so that the NHS trust can consider if a charge for NHS treatment was applied incorrectly and requires cancellation.The Home Office has introduced additional safeguards to ensure those from the Windrush generation are not adversely affected by measures designed to protect benefits and services. I have chaired a cross-Whitehall meeting with relevant departments, including the Department of Health, to ensure we are all taking the relevant steps to protect the Windrush generation.The Government is clear that where the Windrush generation have suffered loss, they will be compensated. The first stage was the launch of a Call for Evidence, that closed on 8 June. The Government will publish a further public consultation on the design and shape of the scheme, as soon as the time has been taken to analyse the responses to the Call for Evidence and use the information gathered to inform design and implementation considerations.In the meantime, we will continue to work with and support affected individuals through the operation of the Windrush Taskforce.

European Arrest Warrants

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to suspend extraditions under the European Arrest Warrant until the Irish case of Minister for Justice v Celmer is resolved.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it remains his policy for the UK to seek to remain a member of the European Arrest Warrant system following Michel Barnier’s speech of 19 June 2018.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of the UK reverting to the European Convention on Extraditions after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd: Until we leave the EU, the UK remains a full member and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. We will continue to apply Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender procedure between member states, in line with EU law.Regarding our future relationship with the EU, the UK is seeking a comprehensive security relationship which preserves mutually important operational capabilities whilst allowing the UK and EU to continue to work together to combat fast evolving security threats. The UK’s position is that it is the interests of both the UK and the EU to continue the efficient and reliable operational capabilities provided by the European Arrest Warrant once the UK leaves the EU, and we are working with the EU and Member States to ensure that this is the case.The Council of Europe’s European Convention on Extradition continues to be an important basis for our work with a number of European countries who are not currently operating the European Arrest Warrant, including Norway and Switzerland.

Fires: Housing

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Incident Reporting System in capturing the major causes of fire in domestic properties.

Caroline Nokes: The web-based Incident Recording System (IRS) provides a standard template, supported by detailed guidance on how to complete the form, used by all Fire and Rescue Services in England, Wales and Scotland. It captures a range of detailed information on fires attended by FRSs, including the cause of fire, source of ignition, power of ignition, the item first ignited and the item(s) responsible for the main spread of fire. It is recognised that changing interests and technologies may not be explicitly reflected in the IRS. The Home Office regularly considers how best to review both the IRS functionality and data collection, to ensure they continue to meet the needs of FRSs and other data users, particularly in light of the Fire Reform Agenda. Home Office officials have regular discussions with fire and rescue services about the data collected through the IRS and collect feedback about the IRS to feed into future reviews.

Drugs: Smuggling

Clive Efford: The ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on establishing a cross-government strategy to tackle drug trafficking.

Victoria Atkins: There are three cross-Government strategies in place which address different aspects of the illegal drugs trade and which, taken together, provide a holistic approach to tackling drug trafficking in the UK.The Government’s Drug Strategy, published in July 2017, sets out a balanced approach, which brings together law enforcement, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around. Tough enforcement is a fundamental part of our drug strategy. We are taking a smarter approach to restricting the supply of drugs: adapting our approach to reflect changes in criminal activity; using innovative data and technology; and taking coordinated partnership action to tackle drugs alongside other criminal activity.The Government’s Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) Strategy focuses on disrupting the organised criminal networks which import and supply the illegal drugs in the UK (in addition to other illicit goods and services). It also aims to prevent people from becoming involved in SOC (including drug trafficking) and protect the border. As set out in the National Security Capability Review, we will publish an updated Serious and Organised Crime Strategy later this year. This will focus on coordinating the use of all available law enforcement, criminal justice, diplomatic and other tools to disrupt high-harm organised crime groups. A critical element of this is stopping those involved in SOC, including drug traffickers, from profiting from their criminal enterprises through cash seizures, asset forfeitures, money laundering prosecutions and civil or criminal recovery prosecutions.The Government’s Serious Violence Strategy was published in April 2018 and outlines an ambitious programme involving 61 commitments and actions. The actions set out in the Strategy tackles a range of issues, such as county lines distribution networks, which exploit vulnerable young people and adults in order to move and sell drugs across the country, and the misuse of drugs. The Serious Violence Strategy is not focused on law enforcement alone. It is also dependent on partnerships across a number of sectors, such as education, health, social services, housing, youth services, victim services and others. This approach establishes a new balance between prevention and rigorous law enforcement activity, shifting towards steering young people away from crime in the first place and tackling the root causes.

Asylum: Housing

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the safety and security of asylum seekers in asylum accommodation; and whether the Government plans to review contracts where contractors have been found not to have fulfilled health and safety obligations.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office and it’s accommodation providers take the welfare of service users seriously. Safeguards and checks are in place to ensure that the wellbeing of service users is considered and that the accommodation provided is safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped and it is also required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation. Where providers are found not to meet these standards, appropriate action is taken to hold providers to account and resolve concerns.

Asylum: Housing

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of (a) information and (b) advice provided by (i) his Department and (ii) housing providers to asylum-seekers in asylum accommodation.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office works closely with its accommodation providers to ensure that there is a consistent standard of information being provided that meets the needs of those we accommodate. The Home Office provides separate grant-funding to Migrant Help for the provision of independent advice to asylum seekers.We remain in regular discussion with the Providers, stakeholders and service users about ways to improve the services provided.

Police: Discrimination

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many allegations of discriminatory behaviour by police officers have been made in each police force in each of the last three years; and how many of those allegations were upheld.

Mr Nick Hurd: Statistics on numbers of allegations made by the public against officers (including on discriminatory behaviour) are collated and published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct in their quarterly performance data. These include a breakdown for each force area, and are available on the IOPC’s website:https://policeconduct.gov.uk/research-and-learning/statistics/complaints-statistics/your-local-police-forceInformation on outcomes in relation to public complaints of discriminatory behaviour is not currently available. However, the IOPC have advised that they will write to the honourable member for ShipleyInformation on internal allegations of discrimination made by officers and any subsequent disciplinary outcomes may be held by individual forces however such information is not held centrally by the Home Office.

Migrant Workers: Allied Health Professions

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 June 2018, Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HCWS768, whether the exemption from inclusion in the cap on Tier 2 visas from non-EU countries for healthcare practitioners will include all allied health professionals; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: On Friday 15 June, the Government announced changes to the allocation of places within the Tier 2 (General) cap of 20,700. The change – which will be implemented through amended Immigration Rules coming into effect on 6 July – will ensure that all doctors and all nurses needed in the UK will be able to be recruited to work here without being counted against the cap. This is intended to be a temporary change which recognises the importance of alleviating pressure on the NHS and which creates extra space within the cap for other occupations, including allied health professionals.  In parallel, we have asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the full composition of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). A number of allied health professional roles currently appear on the SOL, for example diagnostic radiographers and paramedics, and are already given priority under the Tier 2 cap.

Domestic Violence: Convictions

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people convicted of domestic abuse related offences have their details recorded on the Police National Computer.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is fully committed to tackling domestic abuse and doing all we can to protect victims and robustly target perpetrators. It is normal practice for the courts and the police to record all convictions on the Police National ComputerWhere appropriate, they will also be captured on other systems such as on the Dangerous Persons database and managed by police and probation under Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements.

British Citizenship: Young People

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the British Nationality Act 1981, how many young people have been refused British citizenship as a result of being found to not be of good character under each classification; and how many young people have faced restrictions in applying as a minor in each year since December 2012.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people, as defined by the British Nationality Act 1981, have been (a) refused and (b) granted citizenship in each year since December 2012.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which reference to the British Nationality Act 1981, whether his Department has undertaken a review of the guidance it issues on good character for young persons; and what discussion his Department has had with stakeholders on the definitions used.

Caroline Nokes: The good character test for British citizenship applies to those aged 10 and over, in line with the age of criminal responsibility. There are no plans at present to review this. I recently wrote to the Joint Committee for Human Rights on several issues relating to British citizenship, including the good character test. Figures relating to citizenship applications, including decisions to refuse where the applicant is found to not be of good character, are included in the latest Home Office quarterly migration statistics published on 24 May and available on Gov.uk.

European Arrest Warrants

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with the EU negotiating team on the maintenance of the UK's participation in the European Arrest Warrant after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd: Regarding our future relationship with the EU, the UK is seeking a comprehensive security relationship which preserves mutually important operational capabilities whilst allowing the UK and EU to continue to work together to combat fast evolving security threats. The UK’s position is that it is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to continue the efficient and reliable operational capabilities provided by the European Arrest Warrant once the UK leaves the EU, and we are working with the EU and Member States to ensure that this is the case.

Passports: Republic of Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taken to enable people born in the Republic of Ireland that have been resident in Northern Ireland for most of their lives to receive a British passport.

Caroline Nokes: Irish citizens born in Ireland and who move to the UK hold a special status, reflecting our shared history and close social and cultural ties. This includes the right to enter, reside, work and study without seeking permission as well as access to social security and public services, including healthcare. We are committed to protecting these existing rights and privileges as we leave the EU.If they wish to hold a British passport then, in keeping with other persons who have moved to the UK, they first have to apply to naturalise or register as a British citizen. Irish citizens do, however, have the opportunity to naturalise as a British citizen after just five years residence - three years if they are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen - which is quicker than the route to citizenship for other EU nationals.

Drugs: Misuse

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has appointed a Recovery Champion under the Drug Strategy 2017.

Victoria Atkins: A public appointment process is underway to identify a Recovery Champion, who will provide a national voice for the recovery sector. We expect to make an announcement about the role in due course.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been allocated from the public purse to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority for 2018–19; and how many staff that authority plans to employ in 2018-19.

Victoria Atkins: The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has been allocated a resource expenditure budget of £6.55m and a capital expenditure budget of £0.650m for 2018-19. The Authority has budgeted to employ up to the equivalent of 127 full time staff in 2018/19.

Immigration Rules

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to reform the immigration procedures for applicants from (a) Commonwealth countries, (b) EU member states and (c) other countries when the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system and will set out proposals later this year. We will build a comprehensive picture of the needs and interests of all parts of the UK, including different sectors, businesses and communities, and look to develop a system that works for all. That is why we have asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The MAC published an interim report on 27 March and we are considering it very closely. However, they have been clear that their analysis is not complete so it would be wrong to pre-empt their final report due in SeptemberThe Government will have sufficient time to take account of the MAC’s advice when making any final decisions about our future immigration system, which would be implemented from 2021 after the end of the implementation period.

Police: Finance

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment he has made of the (a) level of police funding and (b) adequacy of the investigation of alleged crimes in each of the last five years.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of policing (a) guidelines and (b) resources for the investigation of minor alleged crimes.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as operational leaders and elected local representatives, to decide how best to deploy resources to manage and respond to individual crimes and local crime priorities, and how best to work with communities to prevent crimes from happening in the first place. The Government understands that police demand is changing and becoming increasingly complex. That is why, after speaking to all forces in England and Wales, we have provided a comprehensive funding settlement which is increasing total investment in the police system by over £460m in 2018/19. This includes £280m in force funding from increases in Council Tax precept income. The vast majority of PCCs are using this precept flexibility and most have set out plans to protect or improve frontline policing.

Overseas Students: India

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons students from India were excluded from the reforms announced to Tier 4 visas under the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules Changes to Appendix H published on 15 June 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Careful consideration is given to which countries could be added to Appendix H of the Immigration Rules, taking into account objective analysis of a range of factors including the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk. On this occasion, India did not meet the objective criteria required for inclusion in Appendix H.The list of countries in Appendix H will be regularly updated to reflect the fact that countries’ risk profiles change over time.

Fires

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is his Department's policy to assess the (a) economic and (b) social costs of all fires.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2011 the Department of Communities and Local Government published the Economic Cost of Fire: estimates for 2008, Fire research report 3/2011, see:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121105004836/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1838338.pdfThe Home Office will review the economic and social costs of fire as and when necessary to assist in the development of policy.

Wiltshire Police

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to appoint a Chief Constable for Wiltshire.

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for selecting a Chief Constable for Wiltshire.

Mr Nick Hurd: Decisions around appointing Chief Constables are entirely a matter for PCCs in consultation with Police and Crime panels in line with requirements set out in legislation.The College of Policing publishes guidance and provides support for PCCs on the recruitment process.

Police and Crime Commissioners

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Police and Crime Commissioners have deputies.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government does not centrally collate information on how many Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) employ a deputy commissionerPCCs may appoint a deputy should they wish, and the decision of who to appoint as a deputy is a matter for the directly-elected and publicly accountable PCC. PCCs appoint their deputies in an open and transparent way. This includes a public confirmation hearing by the relevant Police and Crime Panel, who must review the proposed appointment and make a recommendation on whether the candidate should be appointed. Under paragraph 1(a) and (c) of Schedule 1 of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, PCCs are obliged to publish the name and salary of each relevant office holder, which includes any deputy PCC.

Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the salary is of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

Mr Nick Hurd: The salary of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioners is £70,000 per year. This information is published on the Wiltshire PCCs website at this link: https://www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk/article/1570/Your-PCC

Asylum

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have applied for asylum to (a) the UK and (b) Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and what the (i) country of origin (ii) gender and (iii) age was of those people.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office publishes data on the number of people applying for asylum in the UK, broken down by nationality, gender and age, in each year, in table as_03 (asylum, volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. The latest available data are for 2016. Data for 2017 will be published on 23rd August 2018. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/709302/asylum2-mar-2018-tables.odsUK’s immigration control operates at the national level and this is reflected in the statistics published by the Home Office. Therefore, data for Northern Ireland are not separately available.

Undocumented Workers: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firms have been prosecuted in Northern Ireland for employing staff who did not have a legal right to be in the UK since 1 January 2015.

Caroline Nokes: Immigration Enforcement, Criminal & Financial Investigation (CFI) prosecutes individuals not companies.In Northern Ireland Since 01 January 2015, CFI have prosecuted 2 individuals for the offence of ‘employing an adult subject to control who had not been granted leave to enter / remain in UK’.

UK Border Force: Heathrow Airport

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) efficiency of UK Border Force in processing arriving passengers at Heathrow airport.

Caroline Nokes: The number of visitors to the UK continues to grow, with record levels of visitors expected in 2018. We recognise the importance of the experience at the border for visitors and every effort is made to keep delays at the border to a minimum while always maintaining the security of the UK Border. Over 95% of all passengers seeking entry at Heathrow in 2018 have been dealt with within the service level agreementsBorder Force is taking a number of steps to ensure passengers pass through the border at ports including Heathrow as quickly as possible, including through investment in technology and increasing the availability of staff at the busiest times of the day.

Right of Abode

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many right of abode certificates have been (a) applied for and (b) granted to (i) males and (ii) females by country of origin following a change of name in each year since 2010; and how much has accrued to the public purse from those applications in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not record the information requested as this is not part of the application process. To provide the requested information would require manual examination of all applications for right of abode and exceed the dispropotionate cost limit.

Immigration: Appeals

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many cases of appeals for indefinite leave to remain her Department has withdrawn its case at Upper Tier Tribunal in each month in the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the information you have requested in a reportable format.HM Courts and Tribunals Service publish appeal outcomes data on a quarterly basis which includes withdrawals at the Upper Tribunal. The latest published data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognitions-certificates-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2018.

Europe: Extradition

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from the UK to (a) Poland, (b) Hungary, (c) Spain and (d) Italy since 1 March 2018.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the specific information requested.However, statistics on the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) are published by the National Crime Agency each year. These figures include a breakdown of the numbers of individuals extradited from the UK by country.These figures are published at: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics

Migrant Workers: Visas

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have applied to come to the UK to work as (a) doctors, (b) engineers, (c) teachers, (d) in IT, (e) healthcare professionals and (f) in professional services have been turned down for visas under the Tier 2 Cap in each of the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: The available information on applications and outcomes (i.e. grants, refusals, withdrawn and lapsed cases) of entry clearance visas in the ‘Tier 2 & pre-PBS equivalent’ category are published quarterly in ‘Immigration Statistics’, Visas data tables volume 1, table vi_01_q, latest edition at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2018/list-of-tables#visas.Neither a breakdown by profession, or applications and outcomes, is available in the published entry clearance visas data.

Crime Prevention

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has to tackle the socio-economic factors behind knife and gang-related crime.

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department plans to take to proactively tackle the socio-economic root causes of gang violence in communities.

Victoria Atkins: The Serious Violence Strategy represents a step change in the way we think and respond to violence, including gangs. The strategy sets out the key risk factors which may mean a young person may have a greater propensity to get involved in crime than would otherwise be the case such as school absence and peer pressure.The strategy also outlines the importance of early intervention to tackle criminal involvement by young people and the importance of providing positive activities to help them lead productive lives free from crime. We are also supporting work to build local resilience and awareness by match funding local area reviews, which help local areas to respond to gang-related threats.

Slavery

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure modern slavery does not take place within the Government's supply chains.

Victoria Atkins: Tackling modern slavery is a priority for the Home Office and it is committed to working with suppliers to address modern slavery in its supply chains. Home Office procurement teams use the Standard Selection Questionnaire introduced in September 2016. This includes Mandatory Exclusion Grounds for any bidders convicted of human trafficking or slavery offences.The Home Office is working with other departments to agree an effective approach to further assessing and managing the risk of human trafficking in supply chains across Government.

Slavery

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner on improving levels of (a) enforcement of and (b) business compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that companies comply with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to working with businesses and civil society to drive greater compliance with section 54 and ensure production of meaningful transparency statements.The Home Office has established the ‘Business Against Slavery Forum’, chaired by the Home Secretary and in partnership with CEOs of 13 large multi-national corporations. The Forum aims to accelerate progress in tackling modern slavery, by sharing best practice and offering support to smaller businesses. The Department plans to develop a list of businesses in scope of the legislation and will use this to write directly to Chief Executives with clear guidance and resources to support effective reporting under the Act.Home Office Ministers meet regularly with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to discuss issues relating to modern slavery, including compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. The Home Office is planning to establish a Transparency in Supply Chains Advisory Group, involving the Commissioner’s office and other key stakeholders to build a fuller understanding of the compliance picture and coordinate activities.

Passports: Fraud

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained for using a false British passport at a UK port of entry in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: We do not hold details of data on the reason for detention at the border.

Passports: Immigration Controls

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether UK Border Force check all passports presented at UK ports of entry against (a) Interpol and (b) Europol databases of lost and stolen passports and identity documents; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: It is longstanding policy not to disclose details of checks which may be carried out in relation to arrivals in the United Kingdom, as to do so would not be in the interests of border and national security.

Drugs

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning a comprehensive independent review of the Government's approach to drugs policy.

Victoria Atkins: The evaluation of the 2010 Drug Strategy was undertaken to fulfil the National Audit Office’s recommendations that the Government should develop an evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness and value of money of activities aimed at tackling the misuse of drugs under the 2010 Drug Strategy. Building on the findings from the 2010 Drug Strategy Evaluation, we published the 2017 Drug Strategy which takes a smarter, coordinated approach to tackling the complexity and pervasiveness of substance misuse at a national, local and individual level. We are monitoring the progress of the Strategy, building on existing datasets to reflect our increased ambition to reduce drug misuse and improve rates of recovery, and are reviewing the impact of the strategy through the Home Secretary chaired Drug Strategy Board.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers the police have to direct people to leave an unauthorised encampment where local authority managed caravan sites apply a charge for residing.

Mr Nick Hurd: There are a range of existing powers available for both the police and local authorities to tackle unauthorised encampments. Sections 61-62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 provide specific powers to the police to direct people from unauthorised encampments if certain criteria are met. A summary of the powers available to deal with unauthorised encampments has been published on the Government website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments

Visas: Glasgow

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for The Home Department, if he will publish the list of countries that received visas to enter the UK for their public officials to attend the Undersea Defence Technology Fair held in Glasgow from 26 to 28 June 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The information requested is not included in statistics published by the Home Office as it is not held in centrally collated statistical databases as information relating to attending specific events is not a reason for granting or refusing a visa and is therefore not readily identifiable.

Immigration: Appeals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration on 13 June 2018, Official Report, column 420WH on Immigration Rules: Paragraph 322(5); how many of the 427 appeals and judicial reviews, not including the 38 appeals which have been allowed, have been (a) conceded and (b) settled by her Department; and how many remain outstanding.

Caroline Nokes: The statement referred to a manual trawl of individual case records, which is being carried out as part of the current review of Tier 1 (General) migrants who have been refused under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules. This work is ongoing. We will report our findings to the Home Affairs Select Committee once the review is complete.

Cabinet Office

Candidates: Disclosure of Information

Thelma Walker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on enabling candidates for local authority elections to withhold their home address; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood to PQs 148916 and 148917 on 7 June 2018.

Elections: Disclosure of Information

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report entitled Digital campaigning: Increasing transparency for voters, published by the Electoral Commission in June 2018, what the Government's policy is on the recommendation that each of the UK’s governments and legislatures should change the law so that digital material must have an imprint saying who is behind the campaign and who created it.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to PQ148915 on 7 June 2018.

Mass Media: Internet

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the proposed rapid response unit to fake news to tackle has now been established.

Chloe Smith: The Rapid Response Unit was established in April 2018. It monitors news and information being shared and engaged with online, including misinformation and disinformation. It identifies emerging issues and ways to collaborate across Whitehall to respond quickly, accurately and with integrity.Since it’s launch the unit has provided round the clock monitoring on breaking news stories, ranging from the chemical weapons attack in Syria to domestic stories relating to the NHS and crime, working with departments to formulate appropriate responses.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many posts there have been from official Governmental social media accounts on (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter and (c) any other social media platform to raise awareness of voter registration deadlines in each of the last four years.

Chloe Smith: The Government recognises that social media can be an effective tool in increasing democratic awareness in all groups, particularly amongst those groups who are less likely to be registered to vote, such as young people.The primary legal responsibility for maintaining complete and accurate registers lies with Electoral Registration Officers; the Electoral Commission (EC) also has a statutory duty to promote awareness of elections, including registration. In this capacity the EC leads public awareness campaigns on voter registration, notably ahead of elections.Working in partnership with the EC, Cabinet Office has coordinated cross-Government support for these campaigns. This includes sharing campaign materials through government social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as wider networks. No central record is kept of the volumes of these activities.In addition to cascading messages on social media, the Government has also funded local authorities and civil society organisations such as Mencap, Bite the Ballot and Operation Black Vote to promote voter registration ahead of polls. Register to vote reminder messages were also added to high traffic GOV.UK pages, such as DVLA and HMRC.

Prison Officers: Retirement

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the implications for his policies on public sector pensions of raising the retirement age for prison officers.

Oliver Dowden: HM Treasury published an Impact Assessment in September 2012 on the Public Service Pensions Bill, which later became the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. This Act links the Normal Pension Age for public sector workers (including prison officers) to the State Pension Age. This is important to ensure the Normal Pension Age for public service schemes remains in line with developments in longevity, ensuring the sustainability of the schemes and managing risks to the taxpayer.There were extensive discussions between Ministers and with Trade Unions and others at this time.

Northern Ireland Office

Electronic Voting

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will meet the Chief Electoral Officer to discuss the importance of verifying applicants for online voting; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: There are no plans to introduce online voting to Northern Ireland. The verification of registration applications received from individuals using the digital registration service is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer and is carried out in accordance with the law.

Flags: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will undertake a review of the (a) procedures and (b) conditions for designated days on which the Union Flag is flown from Government buildings in Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The flying of flags on Northern Ireland government buildings is regulated by The Flags (Northern Ireland) Order 2000, and The Flags Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, as amended in 2002, which specifies the buildings and the days on which the Union flag can be flown. There are no current plans to review how this legislation operates in regulating flag flying at Northern Ireland government buildings.

Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland: Buildings

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans she has to ensure that regional electoral offices throughout Northern Ireland are retained.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The structure and makeup of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer. Following the recent publication of the response to the joint consultation on the Future Delivery of Electoral Services in Northern Ireland I have every confidence that the Chief Electoral Officer will make the right decisions for the future of her office and the delivery of modern and accessible electoral services.The response to the consultation is available at:www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-delivery-of-electoral-services-in-northern-ireland

Treasury

Child Benefit

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are in receipt of child benefit and for how many children.

Elizabeth Truss: As at 31st August 2017, the total number of families in receipt of Child Benefit in the United Kingdom was 7,376,965 and the total number of children for whom Child Benefit is received was 12,847,100. These figures are on page 4 of the HM Revenue and Customs Child Benefit Statistics: Geographical Analysis August 2017 publication, which can be found by following the link below: [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/691948/Child_Benefit_Commentary_August_2017.pdf]

Fuels: Tax Evasion

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have been arrested for fuel fraud in Northern Ireland between 1 January 2017 and 1 June 2018.

Robert Jenrick: Between the 1st January 2017 and 1st June 2018 there have been six arrests in Northern Ireland in connection with fuel fraud.

Tax Avoidance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment his Department has conducted on the effect of the 2019 Loan Charge on (a) the economy and (b) public services.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the 2019 Loan Charge on the (a) mental health and (b) livelihoods of people affected by that Charge.

Mel Stride: The charge on disguised remuneration loans is targeted at artificial avoidance schemes where earnings were paid in the form of loans, which are never intended to be repaid, made by a third party, which is often based offshore (“disguised remuneration” schemes). It is unfair to ordinary taxpayers to let anybody benefit from contrived tax avoidance of this sort, and that is why this Government has taken action to ensure that everybody pays the taxes they owe. The charge on DR loans is specifically targeted at these avoidance schemes and is not expected to have any significant impacts on the economy or public services. The Government recognises that the charge on DR loans will have a significant impact on some people who have used DR schemes. HMRC wants to help people put things right. It is actively encouraging anybody who is worried about being able to pay what they owe to get in touch with them as soon as possible. HMRC will consider all personal circumstances to agree a manageable and sustainable payment plan wherever possible. Further information on the impacts of the policy can be found in the ‘Disguised remuneration: further update’ policy paper published on 22 November 2017: www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-further-update/disguised-remuneration-further-update.

Child Care Vouchers

Alex Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of the childcare vouchers scheme on universal credit claimants who currently access both schemes.

Elizabeth Truss: There will be no impact on parents currently using vouchers when the scheme closes to new entrants in October 2018. Parents that are using childcare vouchers will be able to continue doing so, while they work for the same employer and their employer continues to offer them. Universal Credit claimants are unable to receive help with childcare costs through Universal Credit at the same time as using childcare vouchers. The government has increased the support available to parents on Universal Credit, who can now get up to 85% of their childcare costs paid. This means the vast majority of Universal Credit claimants are better off getting help with their childcare costs through Universal Credit than through the voucher scheme.  Most vouchers schemes are run through salary sacrifice arrangements, and because you cannot salary sacrifice below the National Minimum Wage, the vast majority of parents on low income are not able to get childcare vouchers.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Craig Mackinlay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to suspend penalties for tax credit over-payments arising from the high income child benefit tax charge for PAYE taxpayers and apply the suspended penalty provisions of Paragraph 14, Schedule 24, of the Finance Act 2007 to any outstanding penalties.

Elizabeth Truss: The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) was introduced to ensure that support is targeted at those who need it most. It applies to anyone with an income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit, or whose partner claims Child Benefit. The tax charge increases gradually for taxpayers with incomes between £50,000 and £60,000. Those who continue to receive Child Benefit must register for Self Assessment to declare their Child Benefit payments and pay the tax charge through their tax return. HM Revenue and Customs encourages individuals to contact it straightaway to pay the tax charge and the vast majority do so. Failure to notify penalties are chargeable where an individual does not register for Self Assessment by 5 October following the tax year when the tax charge becomes due. Penalties are only charged if the tax due is not paid in full by the following 31 January. These penalties are statutory and are charged unless the individual has a reasonable excuse given their individual circumstances.

Bank Services: Fees and Charges

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effects of bank overdraft fees on the mental well-being of people borrowing money.

John Glen: Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. Decisions on overdraft fees and charges are a commercial matter for firms. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires firms to treat their customers fairly and has broad and robust powers to enforce breaches of its rules. As part of its ongoing work on high-cost credit, the FCA is currently consulting on measures that aim to secure greater protection for consumers using overdrafts. The consultation can be found online at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp18-13.pdf The FCA is also considering overdraft pricing as part of its wider Strategic Review of Retail Business Banking Models. It has recently published an update on this work, which can be found online at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/multi-firm-reviews/strategic-review-retail-banking-business-models The Government supports the FCA’s work in this area and will continue to work with it to ensure that all consumers who use overdrafts are treated fairly.

Manufacturing Industries: Tax Yields

Emma Reynolds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of money raised for the public purse from tax paid by the (a) aerospace and (b) automotive sector in each of the last 10 years.

Mel Stride: HMRC does not produce statistics on the total tax paid by specific industries. The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Estimates of home VAT liability by sector are published in Table 2.5.1 of HMRC’s annual VAT factsheet in the link below. It is not possible to estimate VAT liabilities for the aerospace sector as HMRC does not collect this level of information (https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Statistical Factsheets/VAT_Factsheet_17.xls) Table 3.9 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes Statistics Publication provides estimates of self-employment income assessable to tax split by high-level industry and is published at the link below. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-incomes-tables-31-to-311-for-the-tax-year-2015-to-2016) HMRC’s estimates of Pay As You Earn tax by high-level industry sector are published at the link below.(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pay-as-you-earn-tax-deducted-from-pay-by-industry). Corporation Tax liabilities split by high-level industry sector are published in Table 11.5 of HMRC’s annual Analyses of Corporation Tax receipts and liabilities publication in the link below.(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/table-115-computation-of-corporation-tax-liability-by-industry-financial-year-ending-2013)

Construction: Scotland

Danielle Rowley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support the construction industry in Scotland.

Elizabeth Truss: Due to spending decisions taken by the UK Government at the Autumn Budget 2017 and the application of the Barnett Formula, the Scottish Government’s capital budget will increase by £1.7 billion through to 2020/21. Business support is devolved to the Scottish Government. It is for the Scottish Government to determine the allocation of funds from within its own budgets to provide business support or infrastructure investment for the benefit of the construction industry in Scotland.

Finanical Services: Powers of Attorney

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions are required to have proof of a power of attorney before that person is able to withdraw money from an dependant's bank account.

John Glen: There are no specific regulations which require financial institutions, including banks, to request proof of power of attorney before that person withdraws money from a dependent’s bank account. However, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 do require firms to identify and verify their customer’s identity when they establish a business relationship, for example, by opening a bank account. How firms verify their customers' identities is not stipulated in law or by the regulator. Firms are instead assisted in making such policies through industry produced guidance notes. For the financial institutions, these are the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) guidance notes. This guidance requires firms to verify both the identity of the holder of the power of attorney and of the donor. Each firm will have their own policies on identification, and on the circumstances in which other checks should be undertaken.  The relevant guidance on power of attorney can be found in the JMLSG Guidance Notes, Part I, sections 5.3.99-5.3.101

Customs

Matthew Pennycook: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government’s technical note on a temporary customs arrangement, published on 7 June 2018, whether the UK will make payments to the EU to participate in a backstop customs arrangement; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: We are clear that the days of Britain making vast contributions to the European Union every year will end.As an EU member state, the UK remits customs duties to the EU budget under the EU’s Own Resources Decision. As set out in the technical note, after the Implementation Period the UK will no longer have a legal requirement to remit revenue in this way.Neither the UK’s technical paper nor the EU’s draft protocol on Northern Ireland makes provision for the continued application of the Own Resources system.The EU’s proposed draft legal text on the Northern Ireland protocol, published in March 2018, does make provision for the possibility of a mechanism for revenue collection and distribution, as appropriate. This is a matter for further discussion in the negotiations.

Social Services: Finance

Rosie Cooper: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on changes in the level of funding for adult social care since 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: In line with the practice of successive administrations, the details of ministerial discussions are not normally discussed. Adult social care funding will be discussed during the forthcoming 2019 Spending Review. Councils have access to £9.4 billion more dedicated funding for social care between 17/18 and 19/20 as a result of measures introduced since 2015. The government will also publish a Green Paper on social care by autumn 2018.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Social Media: Liability

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing publisher liability for social media companies.

Margot James: We are currently developing options for increasing the liability online platforms have for illegal content on their services. Applying publisher standards of liability to all online platforms could risk real damage to the digital economy. We will be carefully considering the options and consequences of change, and will set out our approach as part of the online harms and safety joint DCMS and Home Office White Paper on online harms which will be published by the end of the year.

Social Media: Hate Crime

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether has made any representations to social media companies on the standard of contracted-out services they have employed to moderate abusive and illegal content; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with social media companies on a range of issues including safeguarding. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.

BBC: Fairtrade Initiative

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has received representations on the consistency of the website www.bbcproductionmusic.com with the obligations of the BBC in relation to fair trade; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: This is a matter for the BBC. The government has not received representations on this issue.

Children: Exercise

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 153820 on Children: Obesity, whether he has made an estimate of the number of children completing 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity supported by parents and carers outside of school time.

Tracey Crouch: The Sporting Future strategy set out a new approach to sport and physical activity, with a clear focus on engaging the least active. The cross-government Active Lives (Children and Young People) survey was launched in schools in September 2017 in order to capture data on how children are engaging in sport and physical activity. The first results will be published in December 2018.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to renew the Compact between the Government and the voluntary sector.

Tracey Crouch: The Compact continues to be an important guide for effective engagement and collaboration between public bodies and voluntary, charitable and social enterprise sector organisations. The Government's Civil Society Strategy, due to be published later this year, will consider practical ways of improving engagement and partnerships across traditional sector boundaries.

Football: Sportsgrounds

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the review into safe standing in football stadia.

Tracey Crouch: I recently announced my intention to commission an external analysis of evidence relating to the all-seater policy. The Department will be going out to tender for this piece of work shortly, and our aim is that the initial analysis work will be completed by the end of the year. As well as looking at what evidence already exists and assessing its reliability, that work will look to identify any important gaps in data, including injury data, and recommend the best ways of filling them.

Social Media: Children

Sir Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to safeguard the welfare of children who use social media.

Margot James: The protection of children and young people from online risks remains one of this Government's top priorities. As part of its work to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online, the Government published the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper in October 2017 and published its consultation response in May this year. The consultation response included a draft statutory social media code of practice. This provides guidance to social media providers on appropriate reporting mechanisms and moderation processes to tackle abusive content. By setting out clear standards for industry, we will make sure there is improved support for users online, and that more companies are taking consistent action to tackle abuse. E-safety is covered at all key stages in computing lessons at school, which is compulsory in maintained schools and used as a benchmark in academies and free schools. DCMS is also working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) to develop the online aspects of new compulsory Relationship Education (primary age) and Relationships and Sex Education (secondary) curriculum in all schools in England from September 2019. Earlier this year, DfE closed a call for evidence on age-appropriate content in the updated curriculum subjects. It also asked for views about the future status of PSHE. The responses to the call for evidence will be used to develop the draft statutory guidance and regulations which will be subject to a full public consultation.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2013

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the speech made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office of 25 June 2018 to Reform, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2013 to ensure that procurements evaluate social value; and whether he plans to consult charities and social enterprises before bringing forward such proposals.

Tracey Crouch: The government remains committed to the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and believes it can contribute to creating a diverse public services supply market and harness wider benefits for our communities.On 25 June, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington announced our intention to lead by example by extending application of the Act across central government. Doing so will not require legislation. Officials from the Cabinet Office, Crown Commercial Service and Office for Civil Society, DCMS will work together to implement this policy with departments and explore further opportunities for the Act.

Prime Minister

USA: Iron and Steel

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister, how many times she has discussed the issue of US steel tariffs with President Trump.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the Oral Statement I gave to the House on the 11 June 2018, Official Report, Column 604. This information is also in the public domain and can be found on the gov.uk website

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Catering

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate has been made of the additional revenue that would have been made as a result of catering outlets rounding all prices up to the nearest five pence during the April 2018 price uplift.

Tom Brake: It is estimated that there would have been around £81,500 of additional revenue in a full year made as a result of catering outlets rounding all prices up to the nearest five pence in the April 2018 price uplift. This is based on comparisons with 2017/18 sales figures.

Women and Equalities

Candidates: Females

Giles Watling: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps she has taken to encourage more women to stand for public office.

Victoria Atkins: There are more women in Parliament than ever before – 208-won seats in the 2017 election. Women now make up 32% of all MPs - up from 22% in 2010. While we cannot be complacent, the percentage of women MPs elected has increased at every general election since 2001, so the direction is positive.The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has commissioned qualitative research with women and men in Parliament, to demonstrate the range of experiences, career paths and skills that Members bring to their role, and to understand the information and opportunities that enabled MPs to stand as Parliamentary candidates so that we can identify the factors involved in their success. We will publish this work in 2018.The GEO supports a range of projects through the £5m suffrage centenary fund, which encourage more women to participate in politics so that they have an equal voice in democracy. The fund will help build a legacy for the future while also celebrating the many inspiring people who campaigned for women’s suffrage.

Teachers: Males

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing the proportion of male primary school teachers.

Penny Mordaunt: I regularly engage with my Cabinet colleagues on equalities issues and I am due to do so shortly with my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education to discuss the equalities issues in education.

Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Supreme Court judgment of 27 June 2018, what steps the Government is taking to review its policy on civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples.

Victoria Atkins: Government has already committed to undertake further work to inform a decision on civil partnerships. We set out our plans for doing this in ‘The Future Operation of Civil Partnership: Gathering Further Information’ command paper, published on 10 MayWe will keep those plans under review in light of the recent Supreme Court judgment

Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her Written Statement of 17 May 2018 on Access to Elected Office for Disabled People, HCWS695, and the announcement of £250,000 to support disabled candidates wishing to stand in the English local elections in May 2019, if she make it her policy to adopt a scheme that replicates the Access to Elected Office scheme administered by Inclusion Scotland.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Access to Elected Office Fund: Evaluation Report published by the Government Equalities Office on 18 June 2018, whether people seeking to be a candidate in the next 12 months that require training and mentoring will be able to access the funding announced on 17 May 2018.

Victoria Atkins: We are working on what the interim funding will cover and how it will be delivered. Further details will be announced in due course and will take account of other relevant provision – for example, as part of its Be a Councillor programme, the Local Government Association (LGA) provides on-line information and, via its four Political Groups, face-to-face training and other support. The Be a Councillor programme is funded by an improvement grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and promotes the role of councillor to individuals, with a particular focus on underrepresented groups. The LGA Political Groups delivering the programme include smaller parties and independents. This reflects my belief that it is for political parties to do what is necessary to support all their candidates and prospective candidates, including those who have a disability.